Seminar

    A unique landform, inverted stream channel (ISC), has been broadly discovered on the surfaces of Earth and Mars. The ISCs have been continuously studied for over a century, and recent studies reveal that the ISCs can be formed through volcanic, fluvial, tectonic, and aeolian processes. In western Qaidam Basin (QB), 5 ISC concentrated fields that contain 16 ISC areas are identified, in which various ISC associated features, such as superposition relations and meanders, are extensively reported on the Martian surface as well. The dry, cold, air-thin, and radiational environment of QB makes the basin excellently analogous to the modern Martian climate. The possible formation mechanism and successive evolution of ISCs are discussed based on our analyses, in which these processes reflect the paleoclimatic conditions of western QB. Such large-scale concentration of ISCs records the transition of paleoclimate from humid to arid. These formation and evolution processes of ISCs may provide reasonable interpretations for the similar geomorphologies of Martian inverted landforms that are widely reported, in which it also opens a window for the exploration of early Martian climate conditions.

Additional information: Mr. Zikang LI, u3006473@connect.hku.hk or Dr. Y.L. Li yiliang@hku.hk