Research Projects

Martian outflow channels and magma-cryosphere interactions in Hebrus Valles and Hephaestus Fossae

I'm the Science PI of a NASA MDAP project that focuses on the fluvial and volcanic history of Hebrus Valles and Hephaestus Fossae in south-eastern Utopia Planitia, Mars. Outflow channel systems on Mars have been largely interpreted as resulting from sporadic but intense episodes of liquid water flow, and the Hebrus Valles and Hephaestus Fossae systems are unique among these due to their well-preserved state and relatively recent activity (Early Amazonian, ~3 Ga). Geologic evidence in these regions points to a water-rich, habitable past environment, characterized by multiple episodes of melting and liquid water flow, yet little is known about their history, and this represents a significant gap in our understanding of geologic processes occurring on Mars in the Amazonian Period. This project currently involves geologic and facies mapping, radar surface and subsurface sounding, impact crater morphology analysis and statistical counts. I am also exploring the feasibility of multispectral imaging to reveal the mineralogy of dust-free surfaces.

My PhD project: unveiling the Rosetta stone of Planum Boreum (Mars)

The overarching objective of my PhD project was to gain a more profound knowledge of the evolution of the Planum Boreum of Mars as a record of past global climate. The large amount of remote sensing data acquired in recent years opened the possibility to better decipher the geologic record of PB with an integrated approach that couples radar sounding, high-resolution visible imagery and general circulation modeling. The extremely dense and extensive coverage of radar data over Planum Boreum allows accurate mapping of the lowermost NPLD and uppermost BU, while newly acquired high-resolution visible imagery makes it possible to reconstruct the transitional environment between the lithic-rich basal unit and the ince-rich North Polar Layered Deposits in great detail. These studies provide the observational constraints necessary to run general circulation models specifically tuned to the north polar region of Mars, and test their sensitivity to Mars’ varying orbital parameters. This approach has the unique potential to determine which driving forces and geologic processes are responsible for the initial emplacement of the largest water ice reservoir in the northern hemisphere of Mars.