Rhythmic bedding in sedimentary bedrock within Becquerel crater on Mars is
suggested by the patterns in this image from the High Resolution Imaging
Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Three dimensional analysis based on stereo pairs of images confirmed the
regularity of repetition in the thickness of the beds. In the left half of
this image, some of the rhythm is apparent as a series of bundles of about
10 individual layers per bundle. By corresponding to a known 10-to-one
pattern in changes in the tilt of Mars' rotation axis, this pattern
suggests the periodicity in the rock layers results from cyclical changes
in the planet's tilt.
This view covers an area about 1.15 kilometers (0.7 mile) wide. Individual
layers in the scence average 3.6 meters (12 feet) thick. The view is
presented in enhanced color emphasizing the differing compositions of
surface material. Sand trapped in relative low points in the terrain
appears blue. Sedimentary rocks appear pink.
Faulting apparent in the image suggests that the deposits are hardened
rock, not softer material. Tilting of the layers in different ways and the
surface topography made the three-dimensional analysis necessary for
determining the thickness of layers.
This image is a portion of the HiRISE image catalogued as PSP_004078_2015,
taken on June 10, 2007. The location of the imaged area is at 22 degrees
north latitude, 352 degrees east longitude, within the Arabia Terra region.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute
of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for
NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space
Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the
spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by
the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball
Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo.
