Architecture of Fluvial and Deltaic Deposits Exposed Along the Eastern Edge of the Western Fan of Jezero Crater, Mars

Nicolas Mangold (1) , Gwénaël Caravaca (2) , Sanjeev Gupta (3) , Rebecca M E Williams (4) , Gilles Dromart (5) , Olivier Gasnault (2) , Stéphane Le Mouélic (1) , Gerard Paar (6) , James F. Bell (7) , Olivier Beyssac (8) , Noémie Carlot (1) , Agnès Cousin (2) , Erwin Dehouck (5) , Briony Horgan (9) , Linda C Kah (10) , Jérémie Lasue (2) , Sylvestre Maurice (2) , Jorge I Núñez (11) , David Shuster (12) , Kathryn M. Stack (13) , Benjamin P Weiss (14) , Roger C Wiens (15)

1 LPG - Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géosciences [UMR_C 6112]
2 IRAP - Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie
3 Imperial College London
4 PSI - Planetary Science Institute [Tucson]
5 LGL-TPE - Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon - Terre, Planètes, Environnement
6 JOANNEUM RESEARCH - Institute for Robotics and Mechatronics
7 SESE - ASU School of Earth and Space Exploration
8 IMPMC - Institut de minéralogie, de physique des matériaux et de cosmochimie
9 Purdue University [West Lafayette]
10 The University of Tennessee [Knoxville]
11 APL - Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory [Laurel, MD]
12 EPS - Department of Earth and Planetary Science [UC Berkeley]
13 JPL - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
14 EAPS - Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences [MIT, Cambridge]
15 EAPS - Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences [West Lafayette]

Abstract Early observations from the Perseverance rover suggested a deltaic origin for the western fan of Jezero crater only from images of the Kodiak butte. Here, we use images from the SuperCam Remote Micro‐Imager and the Mastcam‐Z camera to analyze the western fan front along the rover traverse, and further assess its depositional origin. Outcrops in the middle to lower half of the hillslopes comprise planar and inclined beds of sandstone that are interpreted as foresets of deltaic deposits. Foresets are locally structured in ∼20–25 m thick, ∼80–100 m long, antiformal structures interpreted as deltaic mouth bars. Above these foresets, interbedded sandstones and boulder conglomerates are interpreted as fluvial topset beds. One well‐preserved lens of boulder conglomerate displays rounded clasts within well‐sorted sediment deposited in overall fining upward beds. We interpret these deposits as resulting from lateral accretion within fluvial channels. Estimations of peak discharge rates give a range between ∼100 and ∼500 m 3 s −1 . By contrast, boulder conglomerates exposed in the uppermost part of hillslopes are poorly sorted and truncate the underlying beds. The presence of these boulder deposits suggests that intense sediment‐laden flood episodes occurred after the deltaic foreset and topset beds were deposited, although the origin, timing, and relationship of these boulder deposits to the ancient lake that once filled Jezero crater remains undetermined. Overall, these observations confirm the deltaic nature of the fan front, and suggest a highly variable fluvial input.

Mots clés: Jezero delta; Mars; Sedimentology; Mars 2020; perseverance

Domaines: Planétologie et astrophysique de la terre [astro-ph.EP]; Stratigraphie

Nicolas Mangold, Gwénaël Caravaca, Sanjeev Gupta, Rebecca M E Williams, Gilles Dromart, et al.. Architecture of Fluvial and Deltaic Deposits Exposed Along the Eastern Edge of the Western Fan of Jezero Crater, Mars. Journal of Geophysical Research. Planets, 2024, The Perseverance Rover's Exploration of the Western Fan Front, Jezero Crater, Mars, 129 (3), pp.e2023JE008204. ⟨10.1029/2023je008204⟩. ⟨hal-04521111v1⟩