Thrust Faulting in the Thaumasia Region and Implications for the Structure of the Early Martian Lithosphere

Abstract

In the absence of in situ measurements the mechanical response of the lithosphere to stress is one of the few clues we have to the (paleo) surface heat flow of a planet, enabling us to reconstruct its thermal history. Here we will investigate lobate scarps in the Thaumasia region to gain insight into the thermal state of the early Martian lithosphere. The surface deformations associated with thrust faulting are largely controlled by the faulting geometry, i.e. by faulting angle and depth of faulting [1,2], and since the latter may be identified with an isotherm this allows us to constrain the thermal state of the seismic lithosphere at the time the scarps formed.