Mars Testament Catastrophe
Mars Testament Catastrophe
Mars Testament Catastrophe
www.answersingenesis.org/arj/v1/mars-testament-catastrophe.pdf
Abstract
Opposite Hellas, the largest impact basin on Mars, are the Tharsis volcanoes, the largest volcanoes in
the solar system. Directly opposite the center of Hellas impact basin is the volcano called Alba Patera. Alba
Patera is the largest Martian volcano by surface area. Coming off of the Tharsis plateau is Valles Marineris,
the largest known valley in the solar system.
The unlikely geographic relationship between these gigantic features suggests a cause and effect
relationship between them. This implies a global Martian catastrophe comparable in scale to the Genesis
Flood.
The twin rovers, Opportunity and Spirit, have provided evidence in support of a Martian geological
catastrophe. Data sent from Opportunity (and from orbit) show that it landed in an area that was
catastrophically ooded from the south forming a large splat zone in the north.
Current data provide an excellent starting point for a young Mars catastrophic geologic model allowing
the formation of a core young Mars model.
Keywords: astronomy, Mars, impacts, volcanoes, Hellas, Tharsis plateau, Alba Patera, Valles Marineris
The views expressed are those of the writer(s) and not necessarily those of the Answers Research Journal Editor or of Answers in Genesis.
90 C. Creager Jr.
Martian Geographic Oddities and 40N) (Malin space science systems 2003) is the
Hellas is not only the largest impact basin on western side of Alba Pateras caldera. Alba Patera is
Mars; it is one of the largest known impact basins in the largest Martian volcano by surface area. Coming
the solar system. Hellas is in basically a crater which off of the Tharsis plateau is Valles Marineris, the
is about 2,100 km (1,300 miles) in diameter and 9 km largest known valley in the solar system.
(5.6 miles) deep. For comparison Hellas is about half Yet another Martian geographic oddity is that most
the size of the continental United States and about as Martian craters form a hemispherical pattern on the
deep as Mt. Everest is high. surface. Furthermore, the center of this hemispherical
Hellas center is located at about 70E and 40S. pattern is about 30 west of the center of Hellas,
The bottom of Hellas is the only place on Mars with placing Hellas near the center of this hemisphere
a high enough atmospheric pressure for liquid water (Figure 1).
to stay on the surface (Phillips 2000). The energy
of the Hellas impact has been estimated at about Spirit and Opportunity
5.33 1026 joules (Spexarth 2004). This is a blast of In January 2004 the twin rovers, Spirit and
1.27 1011 megatons which is equivalent to 8.48 1012 Opportunity, landed on Mars and since then they
atomic bombs the size of the one dropped on Hiroshima have sent back a wealth of data. Both rovers found
(U. S. Department of Energy 2000). that Martian soil is largely volcanic dust (NASA/
The Hellas impact dwarfs any known impact sites JPL/Cornell/ASU 2004a; NASA/JPL/Cornell/ASU
on Earth. For example, the famous 1908 Tunguska 2004c). Many of the rocks examined by these rovers
explosion is estimated at about 500 kilotons. are composed of basalt, a volcanic rock (NASA/JPL/
(Hartmann 2003). The Chicxulub impact, thought Cornell/ASU 2004b). Furthermore, many of the rocks
by evolutionists to have killed off the dinosaurs, seen by Spirit are broken, as if damaged by impacting
is estimated at about 108 megatons and produced the ground.
a crater at most 180 km across (Kring 2008). Even When Opportunity landed in the Meridiani
Earths largest known impact crater the Vredefort Planum region of Mars, the scene that it showed was
dome is only about 300 km in
diameter (Spray et al. 2008). 0 180
Despite their relatively small
size, these Earth impact sites do
0
60
120
30
large impacts. For example, the
Chicxulub impact would have
put so much dust into Earths
atmosphere that it is accredited
24
30
0
12
60
killing off the dinosaurs. The
Hellas impact would clearly have
thrown up thousands of times
km
as much dust into the Martian 60 8
atmosphere.
D
If the impacting body came
30
from the asteroid belt the 4
impacting velocity would be
C
about 7 km/s. Using the formula 0
B E 0
for kinetic energy (K = mv2)
results in a mass of 2.2 1019 kg. -30
This is a mass similar to that of F A -4
the asteroid Juno, which has a -60
diameter of about 206 km (Weast
et al. 1983). 180 240 300 0 60 120 180
-8
Opposite Hellas on the
Figure 1. Map of Mars global topography. It shows the uneven crater distribution.
Martian surface are the Tharsis Retrieved from http://www.solarviews.com/cap/mgs/mgstopo7.htm. (Courtesy
volcanoes. These also are the GSFC/NASA). Note:
largest volcanoes in the solar A Hellas impact basin. D Alba Patera.
system. Directly opposite the B Tharsis plateau and its volcanoes. E Valles Marineris.
center of Hellas (at about 110W C Meridiani Planum. F Argyre impact basin.
Mars, a Testament to Catastrophe 91
Figure 3. Erosion patterns found by Opportunity, Figure 5. The Meridiani Planum region of Mars, the
including hematite spheres on sticks. Retrieved from region where Opportunity landed. Note the inow
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05830. channel to the south east and the splat zone in the
(Courtesy NASA/JPL/Cornell/U. S. Geological north. Retrieved from: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/
Survey). catalog/PIA00004. (Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech).
92 C. Creager Jr.
the area of weakened crust forming other volcanoes. 4,000 km (2,500 miles) long, which is about the same
This is supported by the fact that four of the Tharsis size as the continental United States. Its identity
volcanoes (Ceraunius Tholus, Ascraeus Mons, Pavonis as a rift valley is supported by a sudden decease in
Mons, and Arsia Mons) form a nearly straight line. crust thickness under the valley (Zuber 2000). This
While connections between Hellas and the Tharsis suggests that the crust has been stretched in that
volcanoes as well as Hellas and Alba Patera have area. The cause could have simply been the seismic
been suggest before (Scott et al. 2001; Spexarth 2004), activity associated with the Tharsis volcanoes, but the
they have been limited to the basic concept and not as proximity of the Argyre Impact Basin offers another
detailed a model as presented here. possibility. The shock from this impact may have
While no earthbound impacts show this type of rotated the crust under the southern part of Tharsis,
affect, Mercury shows that they can occur. Mercurys stretching crust at Valles Marineris and compressing
largest impact basin is the Caloris Basin. It has it to the southwest.
a diameter of 1,300 km (800 miles), which is about The ooding at Meridiani Planum seems to have
two-thirds that of Hellas (Hamilton 1995b). On the originated at about 12S and 31E. This is based on
opposite side of Mercury from the Caloris Basin is the patterns of deposited material in the surrounding
a lineated and hilly area about 100 km (62 miles) terrain. The eruption of water from underground
across where the crust seems to have been broken seems to be the most likely source of water, since
into jumbled blocks by the Caloris impact (Hamilton underground water would be under pressure causing
1995a). it to be ejected at high velocity, resulting in the erosion
The result is that massive amounts of volcanic of considerable amounts of material to become the
activity would have occurred, lling the atmosphere sedimentary rocks found by Opportunity. However,
with volcanic ash. Included in the mix would be a large an impacting body cannot yet be eliminated as a
mount of sulfur. If the volcanic activity were high possible source, because an eruption point has yet to
enough the ash would increase Mars atmospheric be found.
pressure to a point where liquid water could exist. While some of the oodwater went in different
Much of the volcanic material would form the volcanic directions, most of it would have rushed downhill into
mounts. In Tharsis, the concentration of volcanoes the Meridiani Planum region. This water would be
would have caused a pile up of volcanic material loaded with material, some of which was deposited
forming much if not all of the Tharsis plateau. The over the area explored by Opportunity. Since
remainder of the volcanic ash would have covered the sedimentation in moving water can form multiple
planet, becoming a major component of its soil. layers simultaneously (Berthault 2008; Reed 2008),
At rst glance the hemispherical pattern of craters such a sudden ow of rushing water could have easily
seems hard to explain by the resurfacing of the lightly laid down the rock layers observed in the Meridiani
cratered north. The fact the Hellas is near the center Planum region. The leading edge of the owing water
of this hemispherical pattern further complicates the would form a splat zone, as is observed to the north of
problem, but the relationship between Hellas and the Meridiani Planum region.
Tharsis provides a solution. A closer look shows that Once ooded, the water would likely have remained
the southern dip in the crater pattern is entirely part as long as the volcanic ash covered the planet. As the
of Tharsis, suggesting that the plateau likely covered volcanic ash settled the sulfur would have reacted
part of the southern highlands making them look with the water to form sulfuric acid. As a result the
more hemispherical (Figure 1). This is also supported environment of this temporary lake would have been
by crustal thickness measurements from Mars more like that of a car battery than an ocean. The
Global Surveyor (Zuber 2000). Furthermore, the fact presence of concentrated sulfuric acid would have
that Hellas is on the opposite side of the planet from aided the formation of the hematite spheres that
Tharsis would naturally place it near the center of Opportunity found all over the area.
hemispherical pattern. The craters studied by Opportunity seem to be the
Since the northern lowlands have a lower elevation result of impacts that occurred while the area was
than the highlands, considerably more of the volcanic ooded. The concentrated sulfuric acid would have
and ejected impact material settled in the northern eroded the exposed rocks producing the observed
region of the planet. This is because it is easier for erosion patterns, including hematite spheres on a
dust to be blown from a higher to a lower elevation. stick of rock (Arlauckas et al. 2004).
This process would have been aided by the fact that Given the evidence that the Earth received a
the most, if not all, of the volcanism occurred on signicant number of impacts during the Flood
thinner lowland crust. The result would be a nearly (Spencer 1998), and that the size distribution of
complete resurfacing of the northern lowlands. craters show that the Earth and Mars were hit by
Valles Marineris is a large rift valley about the same population of objects, it is likely that these
Mars, a Testament to Catastrophe 93
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but the rest of Mars as well. Mars presents an mineral on Mars. Retrieved from http://photojournal.jpl.
excellent opportunity for creation research. There are nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05112.
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Planum was not the only part of Mars to have been inner self. Retrieved from http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/
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jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05624.
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NASA/JPL/Cornell/ASU. 2004g. PIA05625: Last Chance
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