Price, Mark A.
(2013)
THERMOPHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MANTLED TERRESTRIAL VOLCANIC SURFACES: INFRARED ANALOGS TO ARSIA MONS.
Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
Sediment/regolith history and mantling of underlying bedrock are important processes to understand for Mars science. The movement of dust over time significantly modifies and covers many bedrock surfaces on Mars. A reliable remote sensing tool for martian geology is thermal inertia, which allows for a detailed analysis of surface properties based on their response to heating and cooling. The future goal of this project is to use thermal inertia to identify eolian- mantled lava flows on Mars and derive a process for separating the spectral signature of the mantling from that of the lava. However, this method must be tested on a terrestrial proxy in order to gauge its effectiveness using ground and laboratory validation. An example of mantled volcanic terrain on Earth is the Mono Crater chain in California, which will serve as an analog for this work. Unfortunately, thermal inertia cannot be calculated from satellite-based imaging, so a proxy called apparent thermal inertia (ATI) was used. Two temporally similar day/night images of the Mono Craters were collected from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument in the thermal infrared (TIR) and visible near- infrared (VNIR). These data were used to create the ATI image. After comparing the ATI result to high-resolution aerial photos it was discovered that ATI appeared to correlate with block size and mantling material. Fieldwork was conducted in July of 2012 on and around North Coulee dome at the Mono Craters. Results The ATI result was found to be reliable, however shadowing on a sub- to super-pixel level was found to artificially increase ATI values in those regions.
Future studies should mitigate this by incorporating a digital elevation (DEM) model and possibly radar backscatter into the ATI analysis to better determine block size. The success of the proxy study on Earth provides a foundation from which future work can be conducted on the Arsia Mons and Syria Planum mantled lava flows. Space-based thermal inertia investigations of these sites would provide insight to the history and eolian patterns of both regions and a greater understanding of the volcanic history and composition in these regions.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
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| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
28 September 2013 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
13 May 2013 |
| Approval Date: |
28 September 2013 |
| Submission Date: |
3 September 2013 |
| Access Restriction: |
5 year -- Restrict access to University of Pittsburgh for a period of 5 years. |
| Number of Pages: |
123 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Geology and Planetary Science |
| Degree: |
MS - Master of Science |
| Thesis Type: |
Master's Thesis |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Remote Sensing; Mantling; Planetary Science; Mars; Thermal Inertia; Geology; Apparent Thermal Inertia; ATI; ASTER; THEMIS; Mono Craters; North Coulee; Thermal Infrared; Spectroscopy |
| Date Deposited: |
28 Sep 2013 19:50 |
| Last Modified: |
28 Sep 2018 05:15 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/19741 |
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