Cerberus Fossae

The Cerberus Fossae are a series of semi-parallel fissures on Mars formed by faults which pulled the crust apart in the Cerberus region (9°N, 197°W). Ripples seen at the bottom of the fault are sand blown by the wind . The underlying cause for the faulting was magma pressure related to the formation of the Elysium Volcanic field, located to the northwest. The faults pass through pre-existing features such as hills, indicating that it is a younger feature. The formation of the fossae is suspected to have released pressurised underground water, previously confined by the cryosphere, with flow rates up to 2 × 106 m3s−1, leading to the creation of the Athabasca Valles.

However, early radar analysis suggests there's no evidence of 'pack ice' tens of metres thick as hypothesised based on the images from Mars Express of the area. This is in support of the US view of images of the area, based on impact crater morphology which do not show any evidences of meteorite hitting anything but solid stone lava fields. Other researchers have found evidence of past ice in the area; they believe that lava flows may not have been involved.

• Cerberus Fossae, as seen from THEMIS.

• Cerberus Fossae dark emission of dark material, as seen by HiRISE. Narrow band of material is coming out of the trough. Scale bar is 500 meters long.

• Cerberus Fossae, as seen by HiRISE.

• Angular Unconformity in Cerberus Fossae, as seen by HiRISE. Click on image to see the angles of the layers.