JGR Planets - 2022 - Krishnan - Long Lived and Continual Volcanic Eruptions Tectonic Activity Pit Chains Formation and

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RESEARCH ARTICLE Long-Lived and Continual Volcanic Eruptions, Tectonic
10.1029/2022JE007511
Activity, Pit Chains Formation, and Boulder Avalanches in
Key Points:
• T he northern Tharsis experienced
Northern Tharsis Region: Implications for Late Amazonian
continual volcanic eruptions, tectonic
activity, and formation of pits in the
Geodynamics and Seismo-Tectonic Processes on Mars
last 500 million years Vivek Krishnan1,2 and P. Senthil Kumar1,2
• Long-lived magma chambers,
subcrustal magma underplating, and 1
CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad, India, 2Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research,
a mantle plume are inferred to be
Ghaziabad, India
present beneath the northern Tharsis
• The boulder falls suggest active
seismicity in northern Tharsis,
including the occurrence of 18 Abstract Tharsis is the largest volcanic province on Mars. It consists of a few large shield volcanoes, one
September 2021 (Mw 4.1) marsquake of which is Alba Mons (AM), located in northern Tharsis, with the Ceraunius Fossae (CF) graben system to
the south of it. Previous workers argued in favor of episodic building of Tharsis volcanoes. In contrast, we
Supporting Information: show that volcanism in the AM and CF regions occurred continually, at least in the last few hundred million
Supporting Information may be found in years, based on ages of >1,000 stratigraphically young lava flows. Central volcanism in AM terminated around
the online version of this article. 200 Ma, while subsequent young volcanism, fed by both small shields and fissures, migrated to the south in CF.
Several generations of grabens hosting thousands of simple to complex pit chains were formed by magmatic
Correspondence to: intrusion through feeder dikes, and these activities also migrated to the south during the Late Amazonian
P. S. Kumar, epoch. Thousands of boulder avalanches mark the slopes of grabens, pit chains, and impact craters, with ages
senthil@ngri.res.in;
senthilngri@yahoo.com ranging from a few tens to thousands of years. The local geological settings of the boulder falls suggest that
both tectonic and volcanic marsquakes triggered the boulder avalanches. The broad zone of boulder falls in
Citation:
northern Tharsis defines the potential epicentral zone of (MW 4.1) 18 September 2021 marsquake. We infer
Krishnan, V., & Kumar, P. S. (2023). that long-lived and active magma chambers and subcrustal magma underplating driven by a mantle plume are
Long-lived and continual volcanic present beneath the AM volcano and that these probably migrated south toward CF in the Late Amazonian
eruptions, tectonic activity, pit chains epoch.
formation, and boulder avalanches in
northern Tharsis region: Implications
for Late Amazonian geodynamics and Plain Language Summary Tharsis is a unique volcanic province, as it is the largest and oldest
seismo-tectonic processes on Mars. in the Solar System. It remained active for >4 billion years. Alba Mons is the largest shield volcano in
Journal of Geophysical Research:
northern Tharsis, bordered by the Ceraunius Fossae graben system in the south with abundant small shield
Planets, 128, e2022JE007511. https://doi.
org/10.1029/2022JE007511 volcanoes. In spite of many studies, several aspects of the volcano-tectonic activities in this region are poorly
understood. Hence, we constrained the timing of volcanic eruptions, migration of volcanic activity, changes
Received 3 AUG 2022 in the styles of volcanism, volcano-tectonic landscape evolution, and nature of underlying magma chambers
Accepted 20 DEC 2022
and magma reservoirs. As Tharsis experienced recent volcanic and tectonic activity, we explored whether
these activities triggered the formation of boulder avalanches on topographic slopes. We found that, in the
last 500 million years, northern Tharsis witnessed continual emplacement of lava flows, tectonic activity
leading to several generations of grabens, and formation of thousands of pits and pit-chains. These suggest the
presence of long-lived and active magma chambers, interconnecting dikes to the surface, and subcrustal magma
underplating, possibly fed by a mantle plume. The origins of thousands of boulder falls of multiple generations
were linked to tectonic and volcanic marsquakes that may be detected by the InSight seismometer.
1. Introduction
The Tharsis Volcanic Province (TVP), also known as the Tharsis bulge, is the largest volcanic province on
Mars and also in the Solar System. It occupies roughly 25% of the Martian surface, with a diameter of ∼6,000
km and a height of >20 km (Figure 1a) (Scott & Tanaka, 1986). The formation of TVP took place in the last
>4 billion years and some parts of it experienced recent volcanism (e.g., Carr & Head, 2010; Hauber et al., 2011;
Pieterek et al., 2022; Richardson et al., 2017, 2021; Robbins et al., 2011; Werner, 2009). The long-lived volcan-
ism produced several individual large shield volcanoes and hundreds of small shield volcanoes (e.g., Bleacher
et al., 2007; Pieterek et al., 2022; Plescia, 2004; Richardson et al., 2021). Alba Mons (AM) and Olympus Mons
© 2022. American Geophysical Union. are the most prominent large shield volcanoes occurring in the northern and north-western TVPs, respectively.
All Rights Reserved. These volcanoes have a slight offset from central Tharsis that consists of other large shield volcanoes Arsia Mons,
KRISHNAN AND KUMAR 1 of 22

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10.1029/2022JE007511
Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets
Figure 1.
KRISHNAN AND KUMAR

Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets 10.1029/2022JE007511
Pavonis Mons, and Ascraeus Mons, which form a NE-SW oriented chain (Figure 1a). These volcanoes contain
central caldera complexes in summit areas that are surrounded by long gentler flank slopes (∼5°), consisting
of hundreds of lava flows of diverse sizes, shapes, surface roughnesses, and basaltic composition (Bleacher
et al., 2007; Brož et al., 2021; Garry et al., 2007; Greeley & Spudis, 1981; Hauber et al., 2009, 2011; Hodges &
Moore, 1994; Hynek et al., 2003; Peters et al., 2021; Wilson et al., 2009; Wilson & Head, 1983, 1994).
Formation ages of small numbers of lava flows surrounding these large shield volcanoes, determined by previous
workers, suggest that these volcanoes have similar formation histories (Table S1 in Supporting Information S1).
Generally, the lava flows in the caldera complexes have minimum formation ages in the range of 50–200 Ma
suggesting the cessation timings of central eruptions in these volcanoes (Hodges & Moore, 1994; Neukum
et al., 2004; Robbins et al., 2011; Werner, 2009), while the lava flows in the flanks have ages ranging from
3,800 Ma to few tens of millions of years, reflecting the entire period of volcano development (Basilevsky
et al., 2006; Blasius, 1976; Carr et al., 1977; Hartmann & Neukum, 2001; Hodges & Moore, 1994; Neukum
& Hiller, 1981; Plescia, 1981; Plescia & Saunders, 1979; Werner, 2009; Wiedeking et al., 2021). Hundreds
of small shield volcanoes were mapped across the TVP (Figure 1); these are present in the volcanic plains
between the large shield volcanoes and represent young volcanic activities (<200 Ma) in the TVP, fed both by
hundreds of small shield volcanoes, fissures and dikes, including possible recent eruptions (Baptista et al., 2008;
Basilevsky et al., 2006; Bleacher et al., 2009; Hauber et al., 2009, 2011; Pieterek et al., 2022; Richardson
et al., 2013, 2017, 2021; Werner, 2009). However, it is unknown whether the volcanism in the large and small
shield volcanoes occurred continually or episodically. Also, it is unknown precisely the timing of the shift from
the central volcanism in the large shields to the fissure eruptions and smaller shield volcanism in the surrounding
plains. To understand this, we studied the AM and Ceraunius Fossae (CF) regions, in northern Tharsis, as type
areas for a large shield volcano and the surrounding volcanic plains, predominantly sourced by abundant small
shield volcanoes, respectively (Figure 1). We dated hundreds of stratigraphically young lava flows in these areas
to document the spatial and temporal evolution of the latest volcanic activity representing the last few hundred
million years. Our new data provide important insights into the timings of the shift from central eruptions in the
large shield volcano to fissure eruptions in the surrounding volcanic plains, duration and continuity or periodicity
of volcanic eruptions, and evolution of the source magma chambers and the reservoirs beneath these volcanoes.
We also examined the possibility of the presence of a mantle plume beneath northern Tharsis and its connection
to the observed magmatic and volcanic processes in the study area.
The TVP is criss-crossed by a few hundred radially arranged giant grabens and circumferential wrinkle ridges
along the periphery (e.g., Anderson et al., 2001; Bouley et al., 2018) (Figure 1a). Many grabens were also recog-
nized to be great dikes and locales of volcanic pits and chains (Megé & Masson, 1996; Scott et al., 2002; Wilson
& Head, 2002). Absolute formation ages of these grabens and volcanic pits are also poorly known (Table S2 in
Supporting Information S1). Because many of these grabens and pits are in stratigraphic contact with the dated
lava flows in the study area, we constrained the relative ages of grabens and pits with respect to the dated lava
flows. We also mapped thousands of volcanic pits along the grabens, measured their sizes and shapes, and corre-
lated their widths with respect to the widths of the host grabens. These observations allowed us in distinguishing
the grabens formed using volcanic or tectonic processes and determining the potential origins of the pits and
chains. We also examined whether the formations of grabens and pit chains are contemporaneous with respect to
the volcanic activities and studied the relationships between the observed geological history and the underlying
geodynamic processes in northern Tharsis.
Figure 1. (a) The Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) topography overlaid on the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) IR daytime image mosaic showing
the topography and geology of the Tharsis region. The red arrow represents the plume track, according to Hynek et al. (2011) that is believed to be responsible for the
formation of smooth plains in the Thaumasia region. The black arrow represents the further migration path of the mantle plume that finally reached below the central
Tharsis region. The purple circle gives the approximate boundary of the Tharsis super plume and the other two small plumes beneath the Olympus Mons and Alba
Mons (AM) (red circles) are interpreted to have formed from the Tharsis super plume. The white inset box represents the study area containing the vast terrains of AM
and Ceraunius Fossae (CF) (panel (b)). The blue cross marks represent the small shield volcanoes in the Tharsis region mapped by Richardson et al. (2021). The pink
star represents the epicenter of (Mw 4.2) 25 August 2021 marsquake located in the Valles Marineris region (Horleston et al., 2022). The white shaded region represents
the possible location of (Mw 4.1) 18 September 2021 marsquake and the white line represents the preferred location of the same marsquake (Horleston et al., 2022),
and the small pink polygon with black dashed line boundary represents the relocated epicenter of the marsquake, as suggested in this study. (b) The MOLA topography
superimposed on the THEMIS IR day time image mosaic representing the northern Tharsis region and the dated lava flows (pink polygons) in this study, covering both
AM and CF. The green lines represent grabens mapped in this study and many of them are in contact with the dated lava flows. The major geological units, as mapped
by Tanaka et al. (2014), are represented by the polygons (with unit labels) with their boundaries marked by continuous black lines, while the dashed lines represent the
boundaries of various morphologic units, as characterized by Ivanov and Head (2006). White triangles are small shield volcanoes mapped by Richardson et al. (2021).

Geological and seismological studies recognized that the TVP is seismo-tectonically active (Horleston et al., 2022;
Kumar et al., 2019). Kumar et al. (2019) suggested that the eastern TVP is seismically active presently and in
the recent past, based on detailed observations of young faults and thousands of boulder avalanches along Valles
Marineris. The Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) mission
installed a broad-band seismometer on the Elysium Planitia in 2018 (Lognonné et al., 2019), which recorded
hundreds of marsquakes in the last three earth years, including the occurrence of a few tectonic marsquakes along
the Cerberus Fossae, which is a ∼10 Ma old graben system, located ∼1,500 km to the east of the seismometer
(e.g., Banerdt et al., 2020; Brinkman et al., 2021; Giardini et al., 2020). The InSight seismometer also detected
two strong distant marsquakes in the Tharsis region (Figure 1a and Figure S1 in Supporting Information S1)
(Horleston et al., 2022). The 25 August 2021 (MW 4.2) marsquake occurred on the western side of Valles Mari-
neris (Horleston et al., 2022). It also confirmed the earlier findings of Kumar et al. (2019) that Valles Marineris is
seismically active. On the other hand, the epicenter of another marsquake (MW 4.1) that occurred on 18 Septem-
ber 2021 remains uncertain, as the authors suggested a large zone of possible epicenters (Figure 1a and Figure
S1 in Supporting Information S1) that includes the eastern part of Tharsis as well (Horleston et al., 2022). As in
the Cerberus Fossae and Valles Marineris regions, we studied hundreds of boulder falls in the study area, as these
observations provide important insights into the potential seismicity in northern Tharsis. Because both volcanic
and tectonic marsquakes were recognized by the InSight seismometer (Brinkman et al., 2021; Kedar et al., 2021;
Sun & Tkalčić, 2022), the occurrences of boulder falls in the young volcanic and tectonic features in the study
area would provide useful information about the possible sources of volcanic and tectonic seismicity in the north-
ern Tharsis. Our observations also helped in relocating the possible epicentral zone of the 18 September 2021
marsquake in northern Tharsis.
2. Geological Settings

The study area is the northern Tharsis region that consists of the vast terrains of the AM shield volcano and the
CF graben system (Figure 1b). AM is the largest shield volcano in the TVP, with a volume of ∼2.4–2.6 × 10 6 km 3
(Carr et al., 1977; Greeley & Spudis, 1981; Ivanov & Head, 2006; Plescia, 2004). It is an oval-shaped volcanic
construct with an E-W diameter of ∼1,400 km and an N-S diameter of ∼1,000 km (Figure 1b). Unlike other large
shield volcanoes in the TVP, AM is characterized by a lower elevation of ∼7 km (Figure 1b). Based on geomor-
phology and lava flow characteristics, Ivanov and Head (2006) divided AM into the main volcanic construct
and the surrounding vast apron of lava flow plains (Figure 1b). The main construct is composed of the summit
caldera (SC), summit dome (SD), summit plateau (SP), northern lobe (NL), southern lobe (SL), eastern lobe
(EL), and western lobe (WL) (Figure 1b). The SC, SD, and SP together compose the summit region that has an
average diameter of ∼500 km. The SC is a complexly nested caldera with scalloped walls. The oval-shaped SD
has a diameter ranging from 350 to 450 km and is made of lava flows forming a radial pattern around the caldera.
These lava flows were identified to be sheet flows (fan-shaped flows with lobate margins) with a rough texture
(Ivanov & Head, 2006). The NL and SL together make up the central edifice unit. The NL has an average slope of
1.3° and is made up of many tube-fed lava flows (these are generally long and narrow flows). The SL is a heavily
deformed region because of densely populated grabens, having an average slope of ∼0.2° (Ivanov & Head, 2006).
The flanking lobes are the western (WL) and the eastern (EL) lobes that are present on either side of the summit
region. These lobes are made up of both sheet flows and tube-fed flows associated with many lava tubes (Ivanov
& Head, 2006). The WL is larger than the EL. Fluvial channels displaying a dendritic drainage pattern are pres-
ent on the NL and SL, indicating a fluvial activity eroding the highly friable materials (soft pyroclastic deposits
as per Mouginis-Mark et al., 1988) or ice-rich dust deposits that were later melted by climate change (Ivanov &
Head, 2006). The apron is the low-lying volcanic plains surrounding the main construct and is largely made up
of sheet lava flows that are hundreds of kilometers long and tens of kilometers wide, drained from the summit
region. These flows are considered to have originated during the early phase volcanism, while those in the summit
area and lobes were formed during the late phase volcanism of AM. The eruption conditions and magma supply
rates also changed temporally, with vigorous short-lived eruptions during the early phase that changed to lower
rates of effusive eruptions with steady supplies during the later phase (Ivanov & Head, 2006). AM is bordered
to the south by the CF that consists of hundreds of densely populated N-S oriented grabens embayed by young
lava flows supplied by a large number of small shield volcanoes and other linear vents (Borraccini et al., 2005;
Pieterek et al., 2022; Richardson et al., 2021). The distributed small shield volcanoes in the CF broadly define
two major directions of underlying feeder dikes (Pieterek et al., 2022). One set is oriented parallel to the N-S

oriented grabens in the northern part, while another set is characterized by ENE-WSW to E-W orientations in
the southern part.
The global geological map of Tanaka et al. (2014) shows that the materials in the summit area of AM are desig-
nated to be Amazonian volcanic edifice (Ave) units, while those on the flanks and apron regions belong to the
Amazonian-Hesperian volcanic unit (AHv) (Figure 1b). The CF is composed of an Early Hesperian volcanic unit
(eHv), Late Hesperian volcanic unit (lHv), Late Amazonian volcanic unit (lAv), and Late Amazonian volcanic
field unit (lAvf) (Figure 1b). Robbins et al. (2011) determined the formation ages of 6 out of the 12 potential
calderas in the AM summit region and the ages are 3.02, 2.03 Ga, 580, 450, and 210 Ma. Werner (2009) estimated
the ages of some lava flows present on the flank region to be 180 Ma–3.4 Ga, indicating prolonged volcanic
eruptions in the AM region. A few lava flows in the western side of the CF have an age range of 68–120 Ma
(Hauber et al., 2011). The lava flows in the vicinity of 12 small shield volcanoes in the CF provided an age range
of 70–160 Ma (Pieterek et al., 2022).
One set of the radial grabens of the TVP passes through the northern Tharsis region (Figure 1a). The grabens
are present in the EL, WL, NL, SL, and lava apron of the AM volcano and in the CF and Tractus Fossae (TF)
(Figure 1b). The grabens surrounding the summit area (mainly EL and WL) form a characteristic wrist watch
pattern (e.g., van Wyk de Vries & Matela, 1998). The grabens in the EL are known as Tantalus Fossae, charac-
terized by a denser population of grabens with NE-SW orientations, while those in the WL are widely spaced
grabens, known as the Alba Fossae (Figure 1b). In the NL, the grabens are widely spaced and generally oriented
in NE-SW directions that originate from the summit region, pass through the NL and aprons, and finally termi-
nate at the northern plains. On the other hand, the SL has closely spaced N-S oriented shorter grabens. In the CF
and TF, the grabens are closely spaced and have N-S orientations with a minor population of NE-SW orienta-
tions. According to Bouley et al. (2018), the grabens present in the CF were formed during the Early Hesperian,
Early-, Middle-, and Late-Amazonian epochs, while those present in the AM region were formed during the
Early Amazonian epoch. The Late Hesperian grabens were documented in the TF region (Bouley et al., 2018).
Some of the stratigraphically younger population of grabens, generally known as the third set of grabens as per
Scott et al. (2002) and Scott and Wilson (2002), contain abundant pits and pit chains along the floors of grabens.
The pits are suggested to be formed by volcanic activities associated with the dikes that underlie them; both mild
explosive activity and subsequent collapse were suggested to have occurred in these pits (Scott & Wilson, 2002;
Scott et al., 2002). However, tectonic processes were also proposed to be responsible for the origins of pits (e.g.,
Wyrick et al., 2004). Mass wasting features were also reported from northern Tharsis. Crosta et al. (2018) mapped
21 landslides along the interiors of pits and grabens in the Tantalus Fossae region. These landslides were classi-
fied either as rock avalanches or slumps.
The gravity and seismic data from the InSight mission provide crustal thickness variation in the study area
(Wieczorek et al., 2022) (Figure S2 in Supporting Information S1). The SP region of AM has the thickest crust
of ∼90 km, which decreases to ∼83 km beneath the SC. In the surrounding lobes, crustal thickness varies from
88 (near SP) to 60–50 km near their peripheries. The lava apron region is characterized by lower crustal thick-
ness (60–45 km) than the summit regions. The younger volcanic plains in the CF are characterized by an overall
thinner crust (40–50 km), while the older ridged terrain in the eastern part (TF) has a thicker crust (60–75 km).
3. Data and Methods

In this work, we used ∼100 m/pixel Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) global
image mosaic (Christensen et al., 2004) and ∼200 m/pixel Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter
(MOLA) digital terrain model (DTM) blended with Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) DTM
(Fergason et al., 2018) topographic data for recognizing large scale regional geological features and for establish-
ing regional geological context for our new geological observations. We used ∼5 m/pixel Mars Reconnaissance
Orbiter Context Camera global image mosaics (Malin et al., 2007; Caltech Murray Lab) for mapping the lava
flows, pits, and grabens, establishing the stratigraphic relations between them, and determining the absolute
formation ages of lava flows using the conventional crater counting method. The boulder falls were mapped using
∼25 cm/pixel Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment images (McEwen
et al., 2007) (Figure S3 in Supporting Information S1). The topographic slopes of the boulder fall sites were
determined with the help of ∼75 m/pixel Mars Express High-Resolution Stereo Camera DTMs. The DTMs were
converted into the topographic slope maps using the planar slope algorithm in the Slope tool (Spatial Analyst

Tool) in ArcGIS, and the slope values from the pixels covering the boulder fall sites were extracted. The crustal
thickness variation in the study area was studied using the global crustal thickness map of Wieczorek et al. (2022)
(Figure S2 in Supporting Information S1). The geological mapping of lava flows, grabens, pits, and boulder falls
was performed using the ESRI ArcGIS 10.3 software.
The ages of lava flows were determined using a conventional crater counting method. Using the CraterTool soft-
ware of Kneissl et al. (2010), we counted the size-wise impact craters superimposed on the lava flows (Figure
S4 in Supporting Information S1), whose lobate flow boundaries were defined to be the counting areas (Figure
S5 in Supporting Information S1). The cumulative size frequency distribution of these counted impact craters
(Figures S6 and S7 in Supporting Information S1) and their statistical analysis were performed using the Crater-
Stat software (Michael & Neukum, 2010), which allows the application of different sets of production/chronol-
ogy functions that give different absolute formation ages (Figures S6 and S7 in Supporting Information S1).
Randomness analysis for the mapped crater population was also performed (Michael et al., 2012) (Figures S6
and S7 in Supporting Information S1). In our work, we considered the production and chronology functions of
Ivanov (2001) and Hartmann and Neukum (2001), respectively, for estimating the absolute model ages of the lava
flows, as many past workers (e.g., Hauber et al., 2011; Werner, 2009) used the same production and chronology
functions for dating the lava flows in the northern Tharsis region. It is also noted that these production and chro-
nology functions provide younger ages for the lava flows than other functions (Figures S6 and S7 in Supporting
Information S1). For example, Pieterek et al. (2022) obtained slightly older ages for the lava flows in the CF
using the production and chronology functions of Hartmann (2005). Hence, the ages of lava flows are subject to
change with respect to the production/chronology functions applied in the calculations. In this study, the area of
counting of superimposed impact craters on lava flows ranged from 5 to 5,040 km 2 with the majority of counting
areas in the 5–50 km 2 range (Figures S5 and S8 in Supporting Information S1). Lava flows with areas less than
5 km 2 were not considered in this study. The counting errors in the ages of lava flows vary between ∼1% and
∼40%, and the larger counting areas led to smaller errors in the age estimates, usually <20% (Figure S9, Table
S3 in Supporting Information S1).
4. Results and Discussion

4.1. Lava Flows
We selected 1,089 lava flows from the study area for determining their formation ages (Figures 1b and 2) (Table
S3 in Supporting Information S1). These lava flows are the stratigraphically youngest in the area, so their ages
would reflect the latest volcanic activity in a given site. The dated lava flows are characterized by a range of
lengths, widths, and aspect ratios (Figure S10 in Supporting Information S1). The lava flows with larger lengths,
narrow widths, and larger aspect ratios are tube-fed flows (Figure S11a in Supporting Information S1), while
those with shorter lengths and larger widths and smaller aspect ratios are sheet flows (Figure S11b in Supporting
Information S1). The dated lava flows in the AM region are both sheet- and tube-fed flows, and those in the CF
are dominated by tube-fed flows. The ages of these lava flows suggest that a significant population of young lava
flows belonging to the Middle- to Late-Amazonian epochs are tube-fed flows (Figure S12 in Supporting Infor-
mation S1). The ages of dated lava flows vary from ∼10 to ∼3,500 Ma (Figures 2a–2c).
In the AM region, we determined the ages of 454 lava flows (Figures 1b, 2a, 2d, Figure S13, and Table S3 in
Supporting Information S1), in which 76 lava flows are from the summit region that includes SP and SD (Figure
S13a in Supporting Information S1). The ages of these lava flows are in the range of 76–2,930 Ma, with a major-
ity in the 100–600 Ma range (mean age: 518 Ma) (Figure 2a and Figure S13a in Supporting Information S1). The
age data suggest that the volcanism in the summit region ceased at 76 Ma. The ages of lava flows in the caldera
floor were determined to be 200–3,050 Ma (Robbins et al., 2011). The 12 lava flows from the NL have ages
ranging from 98 to 893 Ma, with a majority in the 300–500 Ma range (mean age: 406 Ma) (Figure 2a and Figure
S13b in Supporting Information S1). We selected 31 lava flows from the SL region, and these are smaller flows
(in terms of area) that are likely to have originated from the summit area and at local sites around the grabens.
The ages of these flows vary from 21 to 744 Ma, with a majority in the 21–400 Ma range (mean age: 272 Ma)
(Figure 2a and Figure S13c in Supporting Information S1). Ten lava flows are found to have ages <100 Ma,
and these were flowed out of the local grabens. We determined the ages of 192 lava flows from the WL region
that were found to originate both from the summit area and local grabens. The ages of these flows range from
48 to 3,360 Ma with a majority in the 100–800 Ma range (mean age: 614 Ma) (Figure 2a and Figure S13d in

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Figure 2.
KRISHNAN AND KUMAR

Supporting Information S1). Only four lava flows are found to have <100 Ma age and these were derived from
the local grabens. The 61 lava flows from the EL have ages ranging from 26 to 2,640 Ma with a majority in the
400–800 Ma range (mean age: 610 Ma) (Figure 2a and Figure S13e in Supporting Information S1). We found
five lava flows with <100 Ma age that originated from the local grabens. We determined the ages of 82 lava flows
from the apron region with sources either from the summit region or local grabens. The lava flows have ages rang-
ing from 40 to 3,490 Ma with a majority in the range of 200–1,500 Ma age (mean age: 820 Ma) (Figure 2a and
Figure S13f in Supporting Information S1). Four lava flows with ages <100 Ma are also observed. In summary,
the AM has majority lava flow ages in the 100–1,000 Ma range, confirming the volcanic activity during the Late
to Middle Amazonian epochs, apart from some local activities during the Early Amazonian epoch. At least 122
lava flows have Late Amazonian age, of which 28 flows have <100 Ma age. Young volcanic activity (<100 Ma)
was mainly found along the local grabens outside the summit area as a reflection of fissure eruptions in the flank
areas. We also noticed a continual volcanic activity, at least in the last 1 billion years, considering the entire
northern Tharsis (Figure 2b) and the AM volcano as a whole (Figure 2d).
Morphological studies revealed that the caldera complex at AM is underlain by a complex magma chamber at a
depth of ∼24 km (Raitala & Kauhanen, 1989). Considering the topography-based loading models, the magma
chamber may be a sill complex (a sheet-like lensoidal body) (McGovern et al., 2001). We envisage that this
magma chamber supplied lava to the caldera complex until 200 Ma. As magma recharge to the chamber waned
subsequently, the central eruptions at AM stopped at around 200 Ma, and the lateral migration of magma took
place within the magma chamber since then, as pressure dropped because of reduced magma recharge in the
chamber. Lateral migration of magmas in the chamber led to young volcanic fissure eruptions in the flank lobes,
as evidenced by <200–20 Ma old lava flows in the AM lobes and apron (Figure 2a and Figure S13 in Support-
ing Information S1). However, the presence of lava flows of recent origin cannot be ruled out in the lobe areas.
Overall, the volcanism in and around AM occurred continually in the last few hundred million years, more so in
the Middle-Late Amazonian epochs (Figure 2d). Therefore, we suggest the presence of a long-lived and active
magma chamber underneath the AM summit region, since 4 billion years ago.
We determined the ages of 635 lava flows from the CF region (Figures 1b, 2a, and 2e); this includes some flows
from the TF as well. These lava flows originated from numerous small shield volcanoes, small vents, and fissures,
distributed throughout the CF region (Figure S14 in Supporting Information S1). When compared with the flows
in the AM region, those in the CF are smaller but comparable to the tube-fed lava flows (Figure 1b). In general,
the ages of the lava flows range from 10 to 3,600 Ma, with a majority in the age range 10–200 Ma (mean age:
180 Ma) (Figures 2a, 2e, and 2f). These ages are much younger than those of AM volcano. The CF region hosts
333 lava flows with ages <100 Ma, in which 137 flows have ages <50 Ma; 534 flows (84% of total flows dated
from the CF) belong to the Late Amazonian epoch. We found many lava flows with very few small superimposed
impact craters, implying their possible recent formation, with ages <10 Ma. Although Hauber et al. (2011) traced
four lava flows with ages <100 Ma in the CF, the present study found 333 flows with <100 Ma ages. We also
traced the approximate boundary of the area covering the newly dated Late Amazonian lava flows, which is
∼4 × 10 6 km 2. When we superimposed the newly dated lava flows on the geological map of Tanaka et al. (2014),
we found that a vast young lava plain of CF falls in the AHv (see the unit AHv in Figure 2a). We therefore suggest
that these young lava plains should be designated to be Late Amazonian volcanic (IAv) unit (also see Pieterek
et al., 2022). Similarly, the Late Hesperian volcanic field unit should also be renamed to be IAv unit, as these are
also predominantly made up of Late Amazonian lava flows (Figures 1b and 2a).
Pieterek et al. (2022) suggested the presence of feeder dikes underneath the small shield volcanoes in CF, which
are broadly radial and circumferential to the main AM volcanic construct. They also interpreted that these feeder
dikes drew magmas from the main magma chamber underneath AM. On the other hand, we suggest an alternative
interpretation that these dikes are of local origin and are also connected to a separate sill-like magma chamber
Figure 2. (a) Thermal Emission Imaging System IR daytime image mosaic representing the spatial and temporal distribution of dated lava flows in different
morphologic units in Alba Mons (AM) and Ceraunius Fossae (CF). See the legend for color symbology for groups of lava flows of different age ranges. The new
age data suggest continual volcanism in northern Tharsis in the last few hundred million years. The major geological units, as defined by Tanaka et al. (2014), are
represented by polygons (with unit labels) with their boundaries marked by continuous black lines. Based on the new age data for lava flows in the CF region, the
area covering the Late Amazonian Volcanic (lAv) is expanded in this study (see the text for details). (b) A histogram showing the age distribution of lava flows in the
northern Tharsis region, with ages ranging from ∼10 to 1,000 Ma. (c) A histogram representing the age distribution of lava flows in the northern Tharsis region with
ages ranging from 1,000 to 3,600 Ma. (d) A histogram representing the age distribution of lava flows in the AM region. (e) A histogram representing the age distribution
of lava flows in the CF region. The inset histogram (f) represents the age distribution of lava flows in the CF region that formed in the past 400 Ma.

underneath the CF, which may have formed about a few hundred million years ago and continually erupted lavas
in the Late Amazonian epoch as evidenced by the observed ages of lava flows in the CF (Figures 2e and 2f).
Our new age data establishes, for the first time, that continual volcanic eruptions occurred in northern Tharsis
throughout the Late Amazonian epoch, in contrast to previous views that supported episodic volcanism in Thar-
sis (e.g., Neukum et al., 2004; Werner, 2009; Wilson et al., 2001). Hence, it is inferred that the source magma
chamber underneath CF remained active and supplied lava continually, although the amount of eruptions or lava
supplies may have varied with time.
4.2. Grabens
We mapped 988 grabens from the study area, of which 519 and 469 are from CF and AM, respectively (Figure 1b).
Out of these, 183 grabens are in contact with dated lava flows and thus provide the opportunity to obtain the
relative ages of the grabens (Figure 3, Figures S15 and S16 in Supporting Information S1). The maximum ages
of grabens (N = 147) were assigned from the dated lava flows that were cross-cut by the grabens (Figure S15a in
Supporting Information S1). On the other hand, the minimum ages of grabens (N = 36) were assigned from the
ages of lava flows that embay or overly the grabens (Figure S15b in Supporting Information S1).
In the AM region, we determined the maximum ages of 103 grabens (Figures S17a–S17e in Supporting Informa-
tion S1), which vary from 48 to 2,840 Ma, with a majority of ages in 200–800 Ma range. Four grabens have ages
<100 Ma, in which one graben gets the youngest age of 48 Ma, 16 grabens are in the 100–300 Ma range, while
80 grabens are older than 300 Ma. These ages suggest that the grabens were formed throughout the Amazonian
epoch in the AM region, while 20 grabens (13% of total dated grabens) were formed in the Late Amazonian
epoch. Similarly, we determined the maximum ages of 54 grabens from the CF region that vary in age from 23
to 2,840 Ma with a majority in the 400–1,000 Ma range (Figure S17f in Supporting Information S1). We found
that 20 grabens have ages less than 100 Ma (23 Ma is the youngest age), 11 grabens are in the age range of
100–300 Ma, and 23 grabens are >300 Ma old. It is noted that 32 grabens (63%) in the CF were formed during
the Late Amazonian epoch. In the AM region, we determined the minimum ages of five grabens, whose ages
ranged from 38 to 1,300 Ma (Figures S18a–S18c in Supporting Information S1), in which the younger grabens
were found in the SL. On the other hand, minimum ages of 32 grabens from the CF region were determined
(Figure S18d in Supporting Information S1); the age varies from 22 to 2,840 Ma with a majority of ages in the
22–200 Ma range. Among these, 15 grabens have a minimum age of <100 Ma, 14 grabens have ages in the
100–300 Ma range, and 3 grabens are >300 Ma old; 29 grabens were formed during the Late Amazonian epoch.
As per Bouley et al. (2018), the grabens that are present in the AM volcanic construct are shown to be of Early
Amazonian age, while our new data clearly show the presence of Middle to Late Amazonian grabens in the study
area (Figure 3). In the CF region, the grabens are shown to be of Early Hesperian age (Bouley et al., 2018), while
our new data indicate the presence of Late Amazonian grabens (Figure 3). Hence, the young tectonic activity is
confirmed in this study, and the new data also suggest the southward migration of tectonic activity from the AM
to CF regions. Our new data also suggest that volcanism and tectonism occurred contemporaneously in northern
Tharsis, although additional dating of grabens is needed to resolve if the grabens were also continually formed,
as were the lava flows.
4.3. Volcanic Pits
Circular to oval shaped volcanic pits are present in the study area. The isolated individual pits are termed simple
pits, and when two or more pits merge they form a complex pit, which is usually more elongated than a simple pit
(Figure 4b and Figure S19 in Supporting Information S1). Unlike impact craters, the volcanic pits lack elevated
rims and ejecta deposits around them. Although pits and pit-chains were described by previous workers in the
study area (e.g., Scott et al., 2002), we remapped all of them for measuring their sizes and shapes (Figure 4a). We
traced 4,322 simple and 1,459 complex pits from the study area. The total areas covered by simple and complex
pits in the study area are 2,678 and 4,001 km 2, respectively; the complex pits cover larger areas than the simple
pits. Alba Mons contains 2,178 simple and 744 complex pits. The summit, WL, EL, SL, and apron contain 8,
549, 356, 634, and 631 simple pits, respectively; these regions also contain 3, 152, 117, 211, and 261 complex
pits, respectively. Pits are absent in the NL, while only a few are found in the summit region. On the other hand,
the CF (including TF) contains 2,825 pits, of which 2,139 and 686 are simple and complex pits, respectively.

Figure 3. (a) The Context Camera image mosaic showing the stratigraphic relationship between the lava flow and the graben.
In this case, the graben cross-cuts a 730 Ma old lava flow and the same graben is embayed by a 45 Ma old lava flow. Hence,
the graben is interpreted to have formed between 730 and 45 Ma (also see Figure S16 in Supporting Information S1). (b) The
Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) IR daytime image mosaic illustrating the spatial and temporal distribution of
maximum ages of the grabens that cross-cut the dated lava flows. See the legend in panel (d) for color symbology for groups
of grabens of different age ranges. The white inset box represents the area covering panel (a). (c) A histogram representing
the maximum ages of grabens in the northern Tharsis region. (d) The THEMIS IR daytime image mosaic illustrating the
spatial and temporal distribution of minimum ages of the grabens that are overlain by the dated lava flows. See the legend for
color symbology for groups of grabens of different age ranges. (e) A histogram representing the minimum ages of grabens in
the northern Tharsis region.

Figure 4. (a) The Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter topography overlaid on the Thermal Emission Imaging System IR daytime
image mosaic showing the spatial distribution of volcanic pits in the northern Tharsis region (red polygons). Based on the
presence and absence of pits, the grabens are divided into volcanic and tectonic grabens, respectively. The volcanic grabens
are represented by the red lines, while the tectonic grabens are represented by the blue lines. Based on the cross-cutting
relationship between the pits and dated lava flows, maximum ages of 225 pits were derived. See the legend for color
symbology for groups of pits of different age ranges. The location of panel (b) is indicated. (b) The Context Camera image
mosaic showing two intersecting pit chains that both cross-cut the older lava flow and are partially buried by the younger
lava flow. The ages of the lava flows are also labeled. The pit chains are interpreted to have formed between 142 and 374 Ma
(also see Figure S24 in Supporting Information S1 for the cumulative size frequency distribution plots). (c) A histogram
representing the maximum ages of pits in the northern Tharsis region.

Figure 4a clearly shows that the densities of pits and pit-chains vary spatially;
they are more abundant in the SL and CF/TF regions. Generally, the pits and
pit chains were formed along the grabens (Figure S19 in Supporting Infor-
mation S1). Although the grabens are widely distributed throughout the study
area, only some grabens contain the pits and pit-chains. If we assume that
the pits were formed by a dike activity underneath (e.g., Scott et al., 2002),
the grabens containing the pits can also be classified as volcanic grabens
(Figure 4a), as the formation of those host grabens may also be related to the
dike activity underneath. In contrast, the grabens without pits are interpreted
to be tectonic grabens (Figure 4a).
Generally, the pits form linear chains or curvilinear clusters along the floors
of grabens (Figure 4b and Figure S19 in Supporting Information S1). When
the widths of both simple and complex pits are correlated with those of the
host grabens (Figure 5a), it is found that the pit widths are equal to or less
than the widths of the host grabens in a majority of cases, though occasion-
ally pits grew to become much larger than the host graben width. These
observations suggest that the development of pits was structurally controlled
by the grabens. The morphometric properties of simple and complex pits,
such as the length, width, and aspect ratio (pit length ÷ pit width), were meas-
ured (Figures 5b–5g). The length of simple pits varies from a few meters to
5 km (mean = 0.8 km), while their widths vary from a few meters to ∼4 km
(mean = 0.6 km); the aspect ratio ranges from 1 to 2, with a mean of 1.3.
On the other hand, the complex pits have larger lengths (range: 0.2–25 km;
mean: 2 km), widths (range: 0.1–8 km; mean: 1 km), and aspect ratios (range:
1–3; mean 2.3), indicating that these are more elongated than the simple pits.
We also studied how the length, width, and aspect ratio of simple and
complex pits vary spatially within AM and CF. In AM, mean lengths of
simple pits in the summit, WL, EL, SL, and apron areas are 2.5, 1, 1.3, 0.8,
and 0.9 km, respectively, while the mean widths are 2.3, 0.8, 1.1, 0.7, and
0.7 km, respectively (Figure S20 in Supporting Information S1). Corre-
spondingly, the mean aspect ratios are 1.1, 1.3, 1.1, 1.3, and 1.3, respectively
(Figure S20 in Supporting Information S1). The mean lengths of complex
pits in the summit, WL, EL, SL, and apron regions are 4.1, 2.1, 3.7, 2.1, and
2.3 km, respectively, while the mean widths are 2.8, 1.1, 2.3, 1.1, and 1.2 km,
respectively (Figure S21 in Supporting Information S1). Correspondingly,
the mean aspect ratios for these areas are 1.4 1.9, 1.6, 2.1, and 2.0, respec-
tively (Figure S21 in Supporting Information S1). In the CF region, the mean
length and width of simple pits are 0.7 and 0.5 km, respectively (Figure S20
Figure 5. (a) A plot showing the relationship between the widths of pits (PW) in Supporting Information S1). The aspect ratios of simple pits vary from 1 to
and the corresponding host graben widths (GW) (>4,000 measurements) in 2 with a mean value of 1.3. Similarly, the mean length and width of complex
the northern Tharsis region. The blue dots represent the complex pits, while
pits are 1.9 and 0.7 km, respectively (Figure S21 in Supporting Informa-
the red dots represent the simple pits. Most of the pits are found to have widths
equal to or less than those of host grabens. (b) A histogram representing tion S1). The aspect ratios of complex pits vary from 1 to 5 with a mean
the widths (W) of simple pits. (c) A histogram representing the widths of value of 2.6. Our observations clearly show significant spatial variations in
complex pits. (d) A histogram representing the lengths (L) of simple pits. (e) the sizes and shapes of simple and complex pits in the study area. The CF
A histogram representing the lengths of complex pits. (f) A histogram showing is characterized by smaller simple and complex pits than those observed in
the aspect ratios (=L/W) of all simple pits. (g) A histogram illustrating the
the AM region. The spatial variation of pit sizes and shapes is interpreted to
aspect ratios of all complex pits in the study area.
be related to the size and shape of the underlying feeder dikes (e.g., Scott &
Wilson, 2002; Scott et al., 2002). It is also noted that the host graben widths
are also governed by the feeder dike widths. Considering the relationship
between the sizes of feeder dikes and the rates of magma injection and volume of magmas intruded through them
(e.g., Galetto et al., 2021), we interpret that the rates and volumes of magma injections through these dikes varied
spatially in the study area. This has affected both the widths of pits and host grabens (i.e., volcanic grabens).

Among all mapped pits, 255 pits (181 simple pits and 74 complex pits) are in contact with dated lava flows
(Figure 4b, Figures S22, S23, and S24 in Supporting Information S1). The maximum ages of pits (N = 225) were
assigned from the ages of lava flows that were cross-cut by the pits (Figure 4b and 4c, Figure S25 in Supporting
Information S1). In contrast, the minimum ages of pits (N = 30) were assigned from the ages of lava flows that
overlie/bury the pits (Figure 4b, Figures S23, S24, and S26 in Supporting Information S1). The age ranges of
simple and complex pits are 64–2,840 and 29–2,840 Ma, respectively. This implies that both kinds of pits were
formed throughout this period. In AM, we determined the maximum ages of 45 pits from the EL, which vary
from 64 to 1,090 Ma, with a majority in the 400–800 Ma range (Figure S25a in Supporting Information S1); only
one pit is found to be <100 Ma. Similarly, the maximum ages of 130 pits were determined from the WL region
that vary from 353 to 2,840 Ma, with a majority in the 800–1,400 Ma range (Figure S25b in Supporting Informa-
tion S1); the youngest pit is 353 Ma old. In the SL, we dated two pits and both are 552 Ma old (Figure S25c in
Supporting Information S1). In the apron region, we determined the maximum ages of 20 pits, which range in age
from 472 to 1,510 Ma, with a majority in the 400–600 Ma range (Figure S25d in Supporting Information S1). In
case of the CF region, maximum ages of 28 pits were determined, which range in age from 29 to 1,540 Ma, with
a majority in the 29–250 Ma range (Figure S25e in Supporting Information S1). Seven pits in the CF region were
found to be <100 Ma. We determined the minimum ages of 30 pits in the CF region, which range in age from 43
to 452 Ma with seven pits <100 Ma old (Figure S26 in Supporting Information S1). These age data suggest that
the CF region is characterized by a more prominent Late Amazonian pit activity than AM. Overall, pit formation
in the study area is a long-lived geological activity, as are volcanic and tectonic activities.
4.4. Boulder Falls
In this study, boulder falls were traced on the upper, middle, and lower walls in the interiors of impact craters,
grabens, and pits (Figure 6, Figures S27 and S28 in Supporting Information S1). In addition, mass wasting
features such as gullies, landslides, and debris flows were observed along the pits and impact craters in the study
area and some boulder falls were superimposed on these features (Figure S29 in Supporting Information S1).
The boulder falls were identified by tracing the trails produced as the boulders rolled, bounced, and slid on the
topographic slopes (Figure 6b and Figure S27 in Supporting Information S1). In general, these boulder falls
originated from the bedrock exposures on the upper wall region and terminated at middle to lower wall regions
(Figure S27 in Supporting Information S1). We studied 570 HiRISE images, which cover an approximate area of
77,000 km 2 (∼5% of the study area) (Figure S3 in Supporting Information S1). However, only 147 images were
found to have the boulder falls (Table S4 in Supporting Information S1). From these images, a total of 1,138
boulder trails were mapped at 133 sites, distributed in the interiors of impact craters (438 trails), pit chains (500
trails), and grabens (200 trails). A total of 975 trails were mapped from the AM region (211, 137, 4, 148, 36, and
439 trails from EL, WL, NL, SL, summit, and apron regions, respectively), while 164 trails were mapped in and
around the CF region.
Based on the degradation levels of boulder trails, we identified three generations of boulder falls (Figure 6c). The
first-generation boulder falls are characterized by fresh boulder trails, whereas the second-generation boulder
falls have degraded trails. The third-generation boulder falls fully lost their trails due to complete degradation but
these are more abundant than the first- and second-generation boulder falls (Figure 6d and Figure S30 in Support-
ing Information S1). In the study area, we recognized 162 first generation falls, 976 second generation falls, and
several thousand third generation boulder falls. In this study, the mapping of the third generation boulder falls was
carried out only at a few locations, although they occur at all sites (Figure 6d and Figure S30 in Supporting Infor-
mation S1). Morphometric properties such as trail length, trail width, trail slope, and boulder diameter of boulder
falls were measured (Figure 7). Trail length indicates the distance traveled by the boulder along the topographic
slope. The trail width is related to the boulder diameter and depth of penetration in the regolith. We measured
the slope of the boulder fall site present on the graben wall, pit wall, and crater wall, as it would be helpful to
understand the roles of the talus or any other triggering processes responsible for the formation of boulder falls.
We mapped 438 boulder trails from 44 impact craters (23 simple craters and 21 complex craters) (Figure 6a,
Figures S28a and S28b in Supporting Information S1) in the study area. On the impact crater walls, the trails are
present randomly throughout the interior walls. These boulder trails are restricted to the upper, middle, and lower
interior crater walls, and no boulder falls were traced along the ejecta blankets. A few trails were also observed
along the floor of the craters and numerous third generation boulders are seen along the lower crater wall and

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10.1029/2022JE007511
Figure 6.
KRISHNAN AND KUMAR

Figure 7. The histograms showing the morphometric parameters of boulder falls (trail length, trail width, trail slope, and
boulder diameter) present at the interiors of impact craters, pits, and grabens. The number of observations (N) and the mean
values are shown along with the standard errors.
crater floor. The lengths of boulder trails in impact craters range from 6 m to 1 km (mean 144 m) with a majority
in the 6–200 m range (Figure 7). Widths of the boulder trails range from 1.5 to 6.2 m (mean 2.5 m), with a major-
ity in the 1.5–3 m range (Figure 7). Diameters of boulders vary from 1.5 to 5 m (mean 2.4 m) with a majority in
the 1.5–3 m range (Figure 7). The slopes of crater walls at 135 locations were measured and the values ranged
from 6° to 39° (mean 22°) with a majority in the 15°–30° range (Figure 7).
We observed 500 boulder trails from the pits in the study area. These boulder falls were found to originate from
the upper, middle, and lower walls of pits and a large number of third generation boulders were found along the
pit floors (Figure 6a and 6d and Figure S28d in Supporting Information S1). The lengths of these trails range
from 16 m to 1.6 km (mean 237 m) with a majority in the 16–300 m range (Figure 7). Widths of these trails are
in the range of 1.5–9.6 m (mean 3.2 m) with a majority in the 2–5 m range (Figure 7). The diameters of boulders
are found to range from 1.5 to 9.3 m (mean 3.2 m) with a majority in the 2–4 m range (Figure 7). We measured
the slope of pit walls hosting the boulder trails at 202 locations and the slope was found to vary from 2° to
43.6° (mean 23.6°) with a majority in the 15°–35° range (Figure 7). The trails that are present on the pit walls
Figure 6. (a) The Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter topography overlaid on the Thermal Emission Imaging System IR daytime mosaic illustrating the boulder fall sites
(both first- and second-generation populations) present in the impact craters (green dots), pits (white triangles), and grabens (blue squares). Brown filled circles
represent the sites containing abundant third generation boulder falls. The locations of panels (b–d) are also indicated. (b) The High Resolution Imaging Science
Experiment (HiRISE) image (ESP_064712_22400_RED) showing the boulder falls present on a pit wall. (c) The HiRISE image (ESP_055059_2240_RED) showing
the first (1), second (2), and third generation (3) boulder falls present on the wall of a volcanic pit. The boulder trails both predate and postdate the sand dunes. (d)
The HiRISE images (ESP_028238_2240_RED, ESP_056945_2240_RED, ESP_064712_2240, PSP_007048_2240_RED, and ESP_055059_2240_RED) showing the
boulder trails (red lines) and third generation boulders (yellow dots) along a pit chain.

are oriented in the downslope directions (NW-SE), similar to those of graben walls (Figure S31 in Supporting
Information S1). A larger number of boulder falls present in the pits are mainly concentrated in the EL region of
AM (Figure 6a).
We found 200 boulder trails in the grabens in the study area. These trails were found to originate from the upper,
middle, and lower walls of the grabens and numerous third-generation boulders were traced along the lower
wall and floor (Figure 6a and Figure S28c in Supporting Information S1). These trails range in length from 7 m
to 1 km (mean 150 m) with a majority in the 7–200 m range (Figure 7). Widths of the trails range from 1.5 to
7.2 m (mean 2.7 m) with a majority in the 1.5–3 m range (Figure 7). The diameters of boulders range from 1.5 to
6.2 m (mean 2.5 m) with a majority in the 1.5–3 m range (Figure 7). We measured the slope of the graben wall at
86 boulder fall locations and the values ranged from 3° to 39° (mean 18°) with a majority in the 10°–30° range
(Figure 7). The trails that are present on the graben walls have NW-SE orientations, which are the same as the dip
directions (wall slope direction) of the grabens (Figure S31 in Supporting Information S1). These orientations
are different from the N-S oriented boulder falls that are suggested to be the products of solar-induced physical
weathering on Mars (e.g., Tesson et al., 2020).
Figure 8 shows the spatial and temporal distribution of lava flows in the study area (also see Figure 2a). In the
contoured lava flows age map, the pink patches represent areas containing the young lava flows having <328 Ma
age (Late Amazonian epoch), which cover large parts of the CF region and some parts of the EL and SL. We
observe ∼250 first- and second-generation boulder trails and numerous third generation boulder trails in these
young lava fields and these could have formed due to the present or recent seismicity triggered by volcanic
activity underneath these areas. The pits are also found to host numerous boulder falls in the study area. The
InSight seismic data showed abundant volcanic marsquakes underneath Cerberus Fossae, where active magma
movement takes place through the feeder dikes and generates volcanic marsquakes (e.g., Kedar et al., 2021; Sun
& Tkalčić, 2022). We suggest that this process may have triggered the boulder falls in the study area (Figure 8).
The observations of recent fault reactivation along the grabens (Figure S32 in Supporting Information S1) reveal
the possibility of recent tectonic marsquakes along these reactivated grabens. The InSight data also confirmed the
occurrence of higher magnitude tectonic marsquakes in the Tharsis region (Horleston et al., 2022). Hence, many
boulder falls that are present in the areas outside the 328 Ma age contours in Figure 8 may also be the possible
products of the past tectonic marsquakes. The formation of a majority of boulder falls on the gentler topographic
slopes (<30°; Figure 7) would also require additional triggering forces such as volcanic or tectonic marsquakes
(e.g., Kumar et al., 2019). Therefore, the occurrence of boulder falls in the study area suggests that the northern
Tharsis region is seismically active, similar to Cerberus Fossae and Valles Marineris, and northern Tharsis may
also be a potential epicentral zone of the recent (MW 4.1) 18 September 2021 marsquake recorded by the InSight
seismometer (Figure 1a and 6a and Figure S1 in Supporting Information S1).
4.5. Geodynamic Setting
Large-scale geodynamic processes involving origins of hotspots or plumes in the sublithospheric mantle, partial
melting of mantle and magma transport, magma underplating beneath the crust, magma transport in the crust
through dikes, melt collection in magma chambers, and subsequent emplacement to the surface through various
eruption styles were the proposed mechanisms for the development of Tharsis large and small shield volcanoes
(e.g., Bouley et al., 2018; Carr, 1974; Megé & Masson, 1996; Pieterek et al., 2022; Richardson et al., 2021; Tanaka
et al., 1991; Wilson et al., 2001; Wise et al., 1979), although various other mechanisms were also proposed for
the origin of Tharsis (see Pieterek et al., 2022, for discussion). We envisage a geodynamic setting that explains
the observed pattern of volcanic and tectonic activities in the northern Tharsis region. For this, a geological
cross-section was prepared along the NNE-SSW profile (Figures 1a, 9b, and 9c), by incorporating the surface
topography (MOLA data), crustal thickness (Wieczorek et al., 2022; Figure S2 in Supporting Information S1),
lithospheric thickness (InSight data), and the positions of magma chambers, magma reservoirs, and the mantle
plume. The spatial variation of the ages of lava flows from the AM to the CF regions was considered for explain-
ing the southward migration of volcanic activity during the Late Amazonian epoch (Figure 9a). However, consid-
ering high I/E ratios (a ratio between the quantity of volcanic rocks erupted to the surface to the intrusive bodies
present in the Martian crust) for Tharsis (Black & Manga, 2016), a larger number of intrusive bodies are inferred
to be present within the crust (Figure 9c). Two separate sill-like magma chambers (e.g., McGovern et al., 2001)
are suggested to be present beneath AM and the CF, which may be interconnected with many other smaller

Figure 8. The Thermal Emission Imaging System IR daytime mosaic overlain by the interpolated absolute formation ages of lava flows in the northern Tharsis region.
The new lava flow ages presented in Figure 2a were interpolated using Inverse Distance Weightage method available in Spatial Analyst tool of ArcGIS. Note that the
age color image and 328 Ma age contour (Late- to Middle-Amazonian epoch boundary) are only an approximation and interpolation of ages may have unquantified
inherent errors and hence these should be considered with caution. See Figure 2a for the actual age data for the lava flows and their locations to assess the extent of
interpolation carried out on this map. The areas in the pink color represent the young lava flows of <328 Ma. The boulder fall sites (white dots) located in these areas
are interpreted to be formed by volcanic marsquakes occurring along a network of active feeder dikes that underlie these areas. The boulder falls that occur outside the
pink patches (328 Ma age contour) are candidate boulder fall population potentially triggered by the tectonic marsquakes.
chambers in the neighborhood. These chambers are recharged by magmas intruded through the feeder dikes that
are connected to the underplated magma reservoirs existing at the base of the crust (e.g., Pieterek et al., 2022).
We envisaged two separate underplated magma bodies, beneath AM and CF, which are connected to shallow
magma chambers or the surface by feeder dykes (Figure 9c). Considering the InSight data, we assumed a litho-
spheric thickness to be 500 km in the study area (e.g., Duràn et al., 2022; Khan et al., 2021; Knapmeyer-Endrun
et al., 2021) and the undulation at the base of the lithosphere follows the pattern of crust-mantle boundary
(Figure 9c).
A long-lived mantle plume is suggested to be present beneath the AM, in the sublithospheric mantle, for the entire
duration of AM development (at least since ∼3.8 Ga), as suggested for Olympus Mons and Tharsis Montes (e.g.,
Pieterek et al., 2022). The gravity studies of the AM volcanic construct by Janle and Erkul (1991) suggested the
presence of a large low-density zone beneath AM crust with a density contrast of −10 kg/m 3, which the authors
interpreted to correspond to a plume or hot spot beneath the AM crust having a radius of 600 km and a vertical
extent of 300 km in the upper mantle. However, we place the plume underneath the lithospheric base, while
the low-density zone beneath the AM crust modeled by Janle and Erkul (1991) may be considered to be the

underplated magma body. The plume or hotspot hypothesis for AM is also

consistent with the presence of 1,000-km-scale large radial dikes that trav-
erse AM (e.g., Cailleau et al., 2005). The hot plume head caused extensive
partial melting of the lithospheric mantle beneath the AM and CF regions,
leading to the production of magmas that moved upward in the lithosphere
and pooled underneath the crust as magma underplates and later migrated
to magma chambers within the crust and to the surface, as envisaged by
Pieterek et al. (2022). Although the AM was characterized by a long-lived
volcanic activity for more than 3.8 billion years, its volcanic activity in the
caldera region stopped around 200 Ma. As the plume head beneath the AM
lithosphere migrated southward around 200 Ma, it caused intensification of
magmatic underplating beneath the CF crust, high recharge rates of magma
chambers present in the CF crust and subsequent volcanic eruptions through
fissures and small shield volcanoes in the CF. The reduced crustal thick-
ness also facilitated the subcrustal magmatic underplating underneath the CF
region (Figure 9c and Figure S2 in Supporting Information S1).
Past workers suggested that the mantle plume responsible for the AM volcano
is different from the larger one (Tharsis super plume) that is present beneath
central Tharsis (see Pieterek et al. (2022) for more discussion). It is likely that
the AM plume may be an off-shoot of the Tharsis super plume (Figure 1a).
It was also suggested that the Tharsis super plume originated beneath the
south pole, but it subsequently migrated to the Thaumasia planum to the
north (Figure 1a), following the route dictated by the crustal thickness varia-
tions and plume growth patterns (Cheung & King, 2014; Hynek et al., 2011;
Zhong, 2009). The super plume beneath central Tharsis may have reached
its present location at about 3.8 Ga and remained in the same position until
the present. This large plume caused the formation of large shield volca-
noes (collectively known as Tharsis Montes) in the central Tharsis, and one
of its branching plumes led to the development of the AM shield volcano
and CF's distributed small shield volcanoes. It is also noted that the mantle
plume model and the associated geodynamic settings, including the volcano
plumbing systems, explained in this work are only a preliminary proposi-
tion which requires further assessment and more detailed geophysical studies
to understand the lithosphere beneath the northern Tharsis region. We also
recommend a seismological network containing many broad-band seismom-
eters to be installed at different parts of the Tharsis region to understand the
origins of both volcanic and tectonic marsquakes in the martian lithosphere.
By using these marsquakes, the seismic-velocity structure of the lithosphere
beneath the Tharsis can be precisely mapped and the presence of the mantle
Figure 9. (a) Variation of absolute formation ages of lava flows along a super plume and its varied geometry and velocity- and thermal-structures can
2200 km long transect, oriented in NNE-SSW directions, connecting A and
be determined.
B in Figure 1a, passing through the Alba Mons (AM) and Ceraunius Fossae
regions. All the ages were projected to this transect. (b) Mars Orbiter Laser
Altimeter topographic profile along the transect. (c) Schematic geological
cross-section along the transect showing the crustal thickness and lithospheric 5. Conclusions
thickness variations, the presence of magma chambers and subcrustal magma
underplating bodies that are connected by feeder dikes. Thin black lines are We derived five important conclusions from this study. These are as follows:
feeder dikes that connect the small shields and other volcanic features on the
surface and the underlying magma chambers and magma underplating bodies 1. L
ava flows: We dated 1,089 lava flows. They showed the spatial and
(reservoir zones). The presence of a mantle plume below the lithosphere of temporal distribution of the stratigraphically youngest lava flows in and
AM is also inferred based on geological and geophysical evidence (also see around the AM volcano and the CF region, exhibiting continual volcanic
Pieterek et al. (2022)). The melted zones above the mantle plume head and
eruptions during the entire Late Amazonian epoch. The young volcanic
the magma underplating reservoirs are also connected by dike-like bodies
(thick red lines) through which the collected magma are transported to the activity shifted from AM to the CF around 200 Ma. The new age data
crust-mantle boundary. A number of diapirs (inverted rain drop-shaped bodies) indicate that the volcanic activity in the AM region is not extinct but in
are also shown to be present in the lithospheric mantle. recent times it is more focused within the CF region.

2. G rabens: We mapped 988 grabens. We found evidence for contemporary development of grabens along
with the volcanic activity. The development of Late Amazonian grabens and southward migration of young
tectonic activities were documented.
3. Volcanic pits: We mapped 4,322 simple and 1,459 complex pits. Measurements of spatial variation in size and
shapes of pits revealed the variation in the size and geometry of underlying feeder dikes and the volumes and
rates of magmas intruded through the dikes. Formation of Late Amazonian and southward migration of pit
activity is observed similar to the volcanic and tectonic activities.
4. Boulder falls: We mapped 1,138 boulder falls localized in grabens, pits, and impact craters. These are produced
either by young volcanic or tectonic processes in the study area. The boulder falls helped in relocating the
possible epicenter of 18 September 2021 marsquake to the eastern part of AM and CF.
5. Geodynamic setting: Our geologic data suggest a new geodynamic setting for the AM and CF regions. We
infer that long-lived and active magma chambers and subcrustal magma underplating driven by a mantle
plume are present beneath the AM volcano and that these gradually migrated southward toward the CF region
during the Late Amazonian epoch, as the Alba plume migrated southward.
Data Availability Statement

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Context Camera image mosaics are from Malin (2007) and the image mosaics used
are available at The Bruce Murray Laboratory for Planetary Visualization, Caltech website (http://murray-lab.
caltech.edu/). The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) images
used in this work are from McEwen (2007) and these images can be obtained from The University of Arizona
website (https://www.uahirise.org/). The THEMIS-IR Day time mosaic images are from Edwards et al. (2011)
and the MOLA topographic data blended with the HRSC DTM used in this work are available in Fergason
et al. (2018). The HRSC DEM data used in this work are from the European Space Agency (2013, 2020) and are
available on the NASA’s Planetary Data System (PDS) website (https://ode.rsl.wustl.edu/mars/). The shapefiles
containing the geological GIS database, data pertaining to the ages of lava flows, and the excel sheets that were
used to prepare the figures and tables are available in Krishnan and Kumar (2022).
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JGR Planets - 2022 - Krishnan - Long Lived and Continual Volcanic Eruptions Tectonic Activity Pit Chains Formation and

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21699100, 2023, 1, Downloaded from https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2022JE007511 by - <Shibboleth>-member@upatras.gr , Wiley Online Library on [01/02/2023].

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2. Geological Settings

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3. Data and Methods

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4. Results and Discussion

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4.3. Volcanic Pits

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4.4. Boulder Falls

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4.5. Geodynamic Setting

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underplated magma body. The plume or hotspot hypothesis for AM is also

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Data Availability Statement

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References From the Supporting Information

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