51st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2020) 1563.

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POTENTIAL HOT SPRING DEPOSITS IN VERNAL CRATER, MARS: EXCEPTIONAL CANDIDATES

FOR FUTURE EXPLORATION. D. Z. Oehler1, C. C. Allen2, G. R. Osinski3. 1Planetary Science Institute,
Tucson, AZ, USA, doehler@psi.edu; 2NASA - retired; 3Univ. Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada.

Summary: Elliptical features in Vernal crater (Fig. possibility of investigating a variety of settings - some
1) [1] may reflect Noachian to Hesperian hot springs. riskier than appropriate for expensive missions but
These could be of unique astrobiological importance, as offering opportunities to assess sites of unique
hot springs not only may host some of the earliest astrobiological potential. Vernal crater is one such site.
evolutionary lifeforms but can also precipitate minerals
Background: Vernal crater is a 55-km diameter
that preserve evidence of that life [2-9]. Moreover, the
Noachian crater in SW Arabia Terra (6°N,4.5°W). The
features in Vernal crater may have been part of a major
two elliptical features occur in the southern portion of
intra-crater trend of hot springs and could provide a rare
the crater, within a section of exposed bedding (Fig. 2).
example of exposed epicenters of spring activity. These
deposits would be exceptional candidates for future,
small missions utilizing robotic sensors or landers.

Fig. 2. SW Vernal Crater, CTX mosaic (Google Earth). Dark

material is exposed bedding containing elliptical features.

The elliptical features [1] consist of concentric halos

of high but varying albedo, where the highest albedo in
each occurs in a small central zone that mimics the
Fig. 1. Elliptical features (arrows) in Vernal crater (HiRISE shape of the larger anomaly. Each feature is also
image PSP_010420_1855_RED). North is up. traversed by circumferential fractures. Several similar
tonal features extend for 5-6 km, on stratigraphic trend
Introduction: In 2008, the elliptical features in with the elliptical features. Hypotheses considered for
Vernal Crater (Fig. 1) were compared to artesian spring the origin of the elliptical features included springs,
deposits [1]. However, consideration of a hot spring mud/lava volcanoes, pingos, and effects of aeolian
origin is warranted, as several examples of impact- erosion, ice sublimation, or dust, but the springs
related hydrothermal systems on Mars have been alternative was most compatible with all the data [1].
reported recently [10-12], and one from Home Plate in New Observations: The HiRISE DTM shows that
Gusev crater, has been compared specifically to hot- the elliptical features occur on the flank of a 20 m high,
spring biosignatures [13-14]. ridge (Fig. 3). The ridge is coincident with the exposed,
There is also growing evidence that land-based hot dark bedding illustrated in Fig. 2, indicating that the
springs (as opposed to sub-sea hydrothermal vents) dark bedding is bedrock that parallels the crater rim.
may have hosted life’s origin [5-7] – a possibility
stemming from work suggesting that hot springs
associated with volcanic land masses may have ionic
compositions and wet/dry cycles ideal for reactions
necessary for the formation of primitive cells from
prebiotic precursors [8-9].
New data are now available which allow re-
assessment of the Vernal features. These include a
HiRISE Digital Terrain Model (DTM) and a Mars
analog, the 23-km Haughton impact crater in the
Canadian Arctic, which has been reported to host
impact-generated hot spring/fumarole deposits [15-16].
Plans are being developed for future, smaller Mars Fig. 3. HiRISE DTM of area shown in Fig. 2. Dashed ovals
missions using helicopters, drone-based sensors and denote the elliptical features. DTM created by HiRISE team
robotic landers (e.g., [17-19]). These present the using ESP_011844_1855 & PSP_002812_1855.
51st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2020) 1563.pdf

The crest of this ridge contains the largest and ridge for 5-6 km suggest a major trend of ancient spring
highest knobs in the crater, each with relief ~110–120 activity. The occurrence of the largest knobs in the
m. Dust cover on the ridge appears to be relatively low, crater on the ridge crest suggest focused fluid injection
as fine fractures and details of bedding are observable into the ridge - a possibility that could have enhanced
in HiRISE images (e.g., Fig. 1), and some CRISM data cementation and erosion-resistance of those knobs
show responses on the ridge. (hence their large size and height) and would be
The elliptical features are generally flat on the ridge consistent with spring development along the ridge.
flank, occurring at an elevation of ~ -1832m, ~ 825 m
below the crater rim. The elliptical features appear to
post-date the ridge, as they crosscut the ridge bedding.
For comparison, the structural interpretation of Mars
analog, Haughton crater, is shown below in Fig. 4.

Fig. 5. Cross-section of complex crater, showing potential

conduits of fluid movement (red arrows). Adapted from [16].

If the elliptical features represent impact-related hot

springs, their formation would have begun shortly after
the Noachian impact and continued until the crater was
filled to at least 825 m of the rim. That period may
overlap with the time on Earth when earliest life was
developing, ~3.5 Ga. If similar life was emerging on
Mars, evidence may be preserved in carbonates,
sulfates, or opaline silica that are common in terrestrial
hot springs [2-4] and hydrothermally altered impacts
[15, 21], and could be detectable with sensors in
helicopters or drones.
Fig. 4. Haughton crater, showing rim-parallel faults. tilted
Conclusions: New data from a HiRISE DTM and
fault blocks, anticlines, and synclines (from [20]. comparisons with a Mars analog, Haughton crater,
support the concept that the elliptical features in Vernal
Discussion. The morphology of the elliptical crater are remnants of impact-generated hot springs.
features (curved boundaries, concentric halos, central These features have relatively low dust cover and
zones that mimic the shape of the larger anomalies) would be favorable for low altitude characterization of
suggests point sources of fluid influx from which fluid mineralogy, textures, or terracing that could aid in their
reaction fronts extended outward. Alternative interpretation. Future drones might also scoop samples
hypotheses seem less likely, as it is difficult for other that could be returned to a lander for microscopic and
processes to account for the morphological details [1]. organic analyses. The elliptical features in Vernal crater
If the elliptical features were once spring mounds, could thus be of major astrobiological significance.
they may have been eroded to their nearly flat relief, as References: [1] C. Allen, D. Oehler (2008) Astrobiol. 8,
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