Dr. Mayssa El Yazidi visited Sun Yat-sen University

Report Time: June 12, 2024, 4:00 PM
Report Location: Meeting Room A218, Haiqin Building 2, Sun Yat-sen University
Report Title: Analysis of Faults and Pit Chains in Noctis Labyrinthus (Mars): Implications for Early Extension and Possible Magmatic Plumbing
Reporter: Dr. Mayssa El Yazidi
Host: Prof. Jianyang Li

Abstract: Noctis Labyrinthus has been a region of disputed origin due to its complexity and poor understanding of how various processes and mechanisms may have combined to form it. The surface is an integrated record of intensive tectonic activity expressed by a multiple extended sets of dip-slip faults oriented in different directions and thought to have acted on this region over its history. These faults are always coalescent to pits and pit chains displaying a complicated geological history in the region. To understand this geological history, we mapped the surface features in Noctis Labyrinthus using the High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) onboard Mars Express ND2 nadir channel basemaps, and we adapted the Digital Terrain Map (DTM) from the Mission Experiment Gridded Data Record (MEGDR) of Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) onboard Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) for the topography. We believe that the formation of the pit chains in Noctis Labyrinthus is related to a surface collapse after a pressure drop related to the magma chamber deflation associated with Syria Planum volcanic province. We propose a deformational model based on early extension and magmatic plumbing as driving processes for the formation of Noctis Labyrinthus.

Speaker Biography: Mayssa El Yazidi is a Planetary geologist, working on Mars and Mercury geology, and she added recently Venus to her list. She received an honorary doctoral degree in January 2023 at the Centre of Studies and Activities for Space (CISAS), University of Padova (IT). Currently she is a Postdoc Fellow at the catholic university of the sacred heart, Milano (IT).