The Holuhraun Eruption Site in Iceland as an Analog for Elysium Planitia on Mars CL24_4313.pdf

The Holuhraun Eruption Site in Iceland as an
Analog for Elysium Planitia on Mars

1. SecondWorkshoponTerrestrialAnalogsforPlanetaryExploration
JoanaVoigt
1
|[email protected]
C.W.Hamilton
2
,andK.M.Stack
1
1
Jet Population Laboratory, California
Institute of Technology,
2
Lunar and
Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona
August 12–14, 2024
The Holuhraun Eruption Site in Iceland as an
Analog for Elysium Planitia on Mars

2. The Holuhraun Eruption Site in Iceland as an Analog for Elysium Planitia on Mars
Dyngjujökull
Glacier
2014–2015
Holuhraun Lava
Flow-Field Flæður
Floodplain
VolcanicSystems
Bárðarbunga–VeidivötnVolcanicSystem
SelectedCentralVolcanoes
MainGlaciersandVatnajökullIceCap
OutlineHoluhraunsurrounding
Voigt et al., 2021
Jökulsáá
Fjöllum
The Holuhraun Eruption Site
B
A

3. The Holuhraun Eruption Site in Iceland as an Analog for Elysium Planitia on Mars
VolcanicSystems
Bárðarbunga–VeidivötnVolcanicSystem
SelectedCentralVolcanoes
MainGlaciersandVatnajökullIceCap
OutlineHoluhraunsurrounding
The Holuhraun Eruption Site
B
A
Gudmundsson et al., 2016
Voigt et al., 2021
Dyngjujökull
Glacier
2014–2015
Holuhraun Lava
Flow-Field Flæður
Floodplain
Jökulsáá
Fjöllum

4. The Holuhraun Eruption Site in Iceland as an Analog for Elysium Planitia on Mars
Elysium Planitia, Mars
Robbinsetal.,2011

5. The Holuhraun Eruption Site in Iceland as an Analog for Elysium Planitia on Mars
Elysium Planitia, Mars
Voigt et al., 2023
Youngest volcanic terrain on
Mars (few Ma old)
Multiple large aqueously carved
outflow channels (amazonian)
Fresh and almost unmodified
surfaces with high variance of
lava flow morphologies

6. The Holuhraun Eruption Site in Iceland as an Analog for Elysium Planitia on Mars
Elysium Planitia, Mars
Youngest volcanic terrain on
Mars (few Ma old)
Multiple large aqueously carved
outflow channels (amazonian)
Fresh and almost unmodified
surfaces with high variance of
lava flow morphologies
Only region on Mars with active
magmatic and volcanic activity
today
InSightdetected >1,300 seismic
events
Majority of them in Elysium
Planitia, closely associated with
Cerberus Fossae
Low-frequency events are likely
be attributed to melt movement
beneath Cerberus Fossae
Jacob et al., 2022
Studying the recent history in Elysium Planitia will provide
us an insight into the hydrological, volcanic, and magmatic
evolution of the planet

7. The Holuhraun Eruption Site in Iceland as an Analog for Elysium Planitia on Mars
Tectonic and Magmatic Setting
VolcanicSystems
Bárðarbunga–VeidivötnVolcanicSystem
SelectedCentralVolcanoes
MainGlaciersandVatnajökullIceCap
OutlineHoluhraunsurrounding
North American Plate
Eurasian Plate
Andrew & Gudmundsson, 2007

8. The Holuhraun Eruption Site in Iceland as an Analog for Elysium Planitia on Mars
Tectonic and Magmatic Setting
Adrien Broquet& Audrey Lasbordes

9. Voigt et al., 2021
The Holuhraun Eruption Site in Iceland as an Analog for Elysium Planitia on Mars
Geomorphology
57%26%
10%
7%

10. The Holuhraun Eruption Site in Iceland as an Analog for Elysium Planitia on Mars
Geomorphology
57%26%
10%
7%
Voigt et al., 2021

11. The Holuhraun Eruption Site in Iceland as an Analog for Elysium Planitia on Mars
Geomorphology
Voigt et al., 2021
57%26%
10%
7%

12. The Holuhraun Eruption Site in Iceland as an Analog for Elysium Planitia on Mars
Breakouts
Inflation Pits
Geomorphology | Emplacement Dynamics
2014 –2015 Holuhraun Lava Flow-Field

13. The Holuhraun Eruption Site in Iceland as an Analog for Elysium Planitia on Mars
Spiny Breakouts
Inflation Pits
Breakouts
Inflation Pits
Geomorphology | Emplacement Dynamics
2014 –2015 Holuhraun Lava Flow-Field Elysium Planitia

14. The Holuhraun Eruption Site in Iceland as an Analog for Elysium Planitia on Mars
Geomorphology | Emplacement Dynamics
2014 –2015 Holuhraun Lava Flow-Field

15. The Holuhraun Eruption Site in Iceland as an Analog for Elysium Planitia on Mars
Geomorphology | Emplacement Dynamics
2014 –2015 Holuhraun Lava Flow-Field

16. The Holuhraun Eruption Site in Iceland as an Analog for Elysium Planitia on Mars
Geomorphology | Emplacement Dynamics
2014 –2015 Holuhraun Lava Flow-Field Elysium Planitia

17. The Holuhraun Eruption Site in Iceland as an Analog for Elysium Planitia on Mars
Geomorphology
Rafted
Disrupted Crust
Polygonal
Terrain
3 km

18. The Holuhraun Eruption Site in Iceland as an Analog for Elysium Planitia on Mars
Southern Ridge
Geomorphology | Cooling time

19. The Holuhraun Eruption Site in Iceland as an Analog for Elysium Planitia on Mars
Southern Ridge
Geomorphology | Cooling time

20. The Holuhraun Eruption Site in Iceland as an Analog for Elysium Planitia on Mars
Southern Ridge
Geomorphology | Cooling time
Location Number of
Measurements
Mean thickness
(±1-σ) [cm]
Mean cooling time
[min.] 1070°C
Mean cooling time
[min.] 800°C
Northern 34 12±3 147
–68
+91
528
–227
+290
Southern 30 8±2 57
–22
+27 264
–80
+94

21. The Holuhraun Eruption Site in Iceland as an Analog for Elysium Planitia on Mars
Limitations
Scale:
•Area and Volume of the eruptions
•5 major flood basalts/flow units (GrjótáValles,
Rahway Valles, MarteVallis, Cerberus Plains,
and Athabasca Valles lavas) have volumes
ranging from 4,000 ± 1,600 km
3
to 16,000 ±
4,000 km
3
(Voigt et al. 2023)
4 to 5 order of magnitudes larger than
the 1.21 km
3
of Holuhraun

22. The Holuhraun Eruption Site in Iceland as an Analog for Elysium Planitia on Mars
Limitations
Scale:
•Area and Volume of the eruptions
•5 major flood basalts/flow units (GrjótáValles,
Rahway Valles, MarteVallis, Cerberus Plains,
and Athabasca Valles lavas) have volumes
ranging from 4,000 ± 1,600 km
3
to 16,000 ±
4,000 km
3
(Voigt et al. 2023)
4 to 5 order of magnitudes larger than
the 1.21 km
3
of Holuhraun

23. The Holuhraun Eruption Site in Iceland as an Analog for Elysium Planitia on Mars
Limitations
Scale:
•Area and Volume of the eruptions
•5 major flood basalts/flow units (GrjótáValles,
Rahway Valles, MarteVallis, Cerberus Plains,
and Athabasca Valles lavas) have volumes
ranging from 4,000 ± 1,600 km
3
to 16,000 ±
4,000 km
3
(Voigt et al. 2023)
Vent morphologies:
•Holuhraun formed spatter cones and
ramparts
•Eruptions in Elysium Planitia do not seem to
form edifices composed of spatter around
their fissures
4 to 5 order of magnitudes larger than
the 1.21 km
3
of Holuhraun

24. The Holuhraun Eruption Site in Iceland as an Analog for Elysium Planitia on Mars
Conclusions
Elysium Planitia, although lacking global plate tectonics, shares significant similarities with the Holuhraun region that make it a better terrestrial
analog than other lava flows, e.g, in Hawai’i.
Transitional lava types, rubbly and spiny, provide insights into the dynamics of fissure-fed eruptions. The inflation with disrupted surfaces
indicates rubbly lava rather than ʻ aʻā lava. Rubbly crust forms with relatively high local strain rate—high effusion rate and pulsating lava supply.
Rafted plates indicates that flows stagnated and froze after emplacement. However, inflation indicates that those parts of the l ava flow experienced
further evolution with a steady and lower lava supply. Both locations further have polygonal terrains, spiny, indicative for a quiescent initial
emplacement, implying cooling under broadly stagnant conditions.

25. The Holuhraun Eruption Site in Iceland as an Analog for Elysium Planitia on Mars
Conclusions
Elysium Planitia, although lacking global plate tectonics, shares significant similarities with the Holuhraun region that make it a better terrestrial
analog than other lava flows, e.g, in Hawai’i.
Transitional lava types, rubbly and spiny, provide insights into the dynamics of fissure-fed eruptions. The inflation with disrupted surfaces
indicates rubbly lava rather than ʻ aʻā lava. Rubbly crust forms with relatively high local strain rate—high effusion rate and pulsating lava supply.
Rafted plates indicates that flows stagnated and froze after emplacement. However, inflation indicates that those parts of the l ava flow experienced
further evolution with a steady and lower lava supply. Both locations further have polygonal terrains, spiny, indicative for a quiescent initial
emplacement, implying cooling under broadly stagnant conditions.
Theprimarylimitationliesinthescaleoftheeruption.Lavaflow-fieldsinElysiumPlanitiaareupto
fourordersofmagnitudelargerthanthoseatHoluhraun,suggestingdifferencesinvolcanicoutput,
magmasupplyrates,ormagmaticplumbingsystems.
SeismicactivityandpotentialmeltmigrationunderscorethatElysiumPlanitiaisanactivelyevolving
volcanicregion. Futureresearchshouldaimtofurtherconstrainthepresent-daystatetounderstandthe
interiorstateofMarsandtherolethatvolcaniceruptionsplayinaffectingthesurficialgeologyand
habitability.MarsScienceHelicopter.