Compressional Ridges on Baret Montes, Pluto as Observed by New Horizons
by Ahrens, C. J.; Chevrier, V. F.
Distinct compressional folding patterns may be an important aspect in shaping icy body surfaces in the outer Solar System and revealing their folding processes and stress histories. Baret Montes on Sputnik Planitia is possibly one of the most folded structures yet observed on Pluto. This glacier consists of subparallel ridges that display a consistent northwest-southeast orientation and is comparable to Enceladan transpression fold processes. Here we report on mapping using images from NASA's New Horizons mission and apply ridge analysis to determine the folding characteristics and approximate the deformation duration of the folds. This leads to a discussion of the ridge formation mechanism and the possible influence of Sputnik Planitia's underlying convection. Based on the occurrence of the ridges on a water ice based glacier with a thinner layer of methane-water ice, we conclude that the deformation rates calculated in this study imply the folding duration to be <5.53 My.
- Journal
- Geophysical Research Letters
- Volume
- 46
- Issue
- 24
- Year
- 2019
- Start Page
- 14328-14335
- URL
- https://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2019gl085648
- ISBN/ISSN
- 1944-8007; 0094-8276
- DOI
- 10.1029/2019gl085648