Numerical modeling and Geomorphological studies on Martian landslides found in Noachian highlands

Mass wasting is a geological process reported in almost every rocky body of our solar system and represents a transversal and multidisciplinary topic in planetary sciences. In the case of Mars, trigger mechanisms of different types of landslides remain uncertain as well as the dynamics behind the process of landsliding. Recent global inventories [1], [2] show evidence of slope failures all over the planet, but only a selected fraction of the database has been studied in detail: the research is focused on targets with well-defined sizes [3] that are predominantly restricted to specific regions, such as Valles Marineris [4], [2]. There, the large volumes of collapsed material make difficult to compare Martian cases to terrestrial analogues, and this could be one of the reason why the triggering and dynamics of these large landslides are still unclear [3]. The numerical models and softwares proposed to study landslides on Mars fail to reproduce properly the observed topography of the deposits after the simulation of the landslide’s event [3], [5], [6]. The mapping and the characterization of smaller samples could fill the gap between present knowledge about mass wasting activity on Mars and the future of this research field, making direct comparisons with terrestrial case studies of similar scale feasible [3]. The numerical models and softwares proposed to study landslides on Mars fail to reproduce properly the observed topography of the deposits after the simulation of the landslide’s event [3], [5], [6]. A “general” numerical model useful for the reconstruction of the dynamics of Martian landslides is still missing, thus this research topic can be worth of consideration. The aim of this work is to provide new data about Martian landslides located in unstudied impact basins of Noachian highlands, using numerical modelling techniques to infer their dynamics and make reasonable hypotheses about trigger mechanisms. This research is also an effort to establish a “general” working method for the study of minor Martian landslides.