| LOCALITY |
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CONTINENTAL MAP |
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|
REGIONAL MAP |
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To be added |
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MAP REFERENCES |
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Alice Springs, Rodinga, Hale River, and Illogwa
Creek 1; 250,000 topographic and geological map sheets. |
| SAMPLE SATELLITE/AERIAL IMAGE |
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Paleoflood bar
deposits in the Hale River Central Australia. The paleoflood
deposited (a) large-scale gravel bars in a 1.5 km wide braid
channel displaying (b) a well-developed marginal channel
system. Remnants of longitudinal dunes (c) are preserved and
form the channel boundary. Frame width is 7 km and north is at
the top. |
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| SAMPLE MARS SATELLITE IMAGE |
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MOC image of a valley in the Libya
Montes region of Mars. Terraces (t) are visible along the
valley wall, perhaps related to flow levels or layered wall
rock. Lobate materials have flowed down the valley floor (f),
likely either lava or debris flows that postdate the main
valley formation. Etched terrain (e) may indicate either
aeolian or fluvial reworking of deposits. MOC image 10703,
N2.69°, W275.62°, 5.5 m/pixel. |
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| IMAGE REFERENCES |
| http://www.nasm.edu/ceps/research/bourke/mars2000.html |
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| Todd and Hale Rivers |
| DESIGNATION |
| Australia-NT_S-Todd_Hale |
| LONGITUDE |
| 135°30'E |
| LATITUDE |
| 24°40'S |
| LOCALITY AND OWNERSHIP |
| From MacDonnell Ranges and into Lake Eyre Basin. Mainly
pastoral lease but some areas may be Aboriginal owned. |
| ACCESS |
| Stuart Highway crosses the Todd River which flows through
Alice Springs, so access locally very good. More remote areas will require
4WD access. |
| LOCAL CONTACTS |
| |
| NEAREST SERVICES |
| Alice Springs |
| RISKS |
| Likely to be similar to other areas of inland Australia.
Main medical facilities will be at Alice Springs. Risks are probably low
to high, depending on distance and access. |
| GEOLOGY |
| The Todd River and its tributaries such as the Ross and Hale
Rivers rise in the MacDonnell Ranges and terminate in dunefields of the
Simpson Desert because of infiltration and evaporation. In additional to
normal episodic floods, these river systems show signs of catastrophic
flooding. These catastrophic but random events (they occur on the order of
several centuries to millennia apart) incise the main channels which are
then modified and infilled by more normal fluival processes. |
| CLIMATE |
| Mean rainfall 274 mm, summer diurnal temperature range
20.7-35.4 degrees, winter diurnal temperature range 5.1-19.4 degrees.
Nearest BOM Weather Station: Alice Springs |
| FLORA AND FAUNA |
| Vegetation variable, from savanna woodland and hill slopes
in the MacDonnell ranges to spinifex country in the Simpson Desert |
| HISTORY |
| Area extensively studied by Mary Bourke in 1990's. |
| ANALOGUE VALUE |
| The Todd River and its tributaries have been used as
analogues for channels in the Libya Montes region of Mars. As the only
area in Australia specifically used as a Martian analogue the scientific
value of the area is high. Other analogue areas are unknown, although it
is likely to provide suitable testing sites for analogue rover vehicles in
areas of fluvial erosion and deposition and sand dunes. Vegetation may be
dense for good visual analogues, but such areas may be possible with good
site selection. |
| REFERENCES |
- Bourke, M. C. Home page. http://www.nasm.edu/ceps/staff/mbourke.htm
contains useful biographic and bibliographic information, plus
images and downloadable abstracts from the Lunar and Planetary Science
conferences.
- Bourke, M. C. (1994) Cyclical Construction and Destruction of Flood
Dominated Semiarid Central Australia. In Olive, L. J., Loughlan, R.
and Kesby, J. A. (Eds). Variability in Stream Erosion and Sediment
Transport, IAHS, Publ 224, p 113-23. Main published source to date
on Mary's research in the area.
- Bourke, M. C. 1998. Fluvial geomorphology and paleofloods in arid
central Australia / Mary C.A. Bourke. PhD Thesis, Australian National
University (unpublished). The main source of Mary's work on the
Hale and Todd River systems.
- Bourke M.C. and Zimbelman J.R. (1999) Australian Paleoflood Systems:
A New Earth for Martian Channels. 30th Lunar and Planetary Sciences
Conference. A paper comparing the Todd River Flood plain to the
Libya Montes region of Mars.
- Bourke M.C. and Zimbelman J.R. (2000) Australian Paleoflood Systems:
An Analogue for Martian Channel Systems. 31st Lunar and Planetary
Sciences Conference. A paper comparing the Hale River Flood plain
to the Libya Montes region of Mars.
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