Estimating hydraulic conductivity for the Martian subsurface based on drainage patterns — A case study in the Mare Tyrrhenum Quadrangle

Content Provider	Semantic Scholar
Author	Grudzinski, Bartosz Pederson, Darryll
Copyright Year	2010
Abstract	Hydraulic conductivity K, as the coefficient of proportionality in Darcy’s Law, is critical in understanding the past Martian hydrologic cycle, climate, and landform evolution. However, K and its spatial variability on Mars are thus far poorly constrained due to lack of accessibility. Using an innovative method based on surface drainage dissection patterns, which has been successfully tested in the Oregon Cascades on Earth, we estimated K in the Mare Tyrrhenum Quadrangle on Mars. The basic assumption is that under long-term dynamic equilibrium conditions, the overall dissection pattern in a watershed as reflected in drainage density is controlled by the interplay among surface runoff, groundwater flow, topography, and aquifer properties. K is calculated following a derivative of Darcy’s Law under DuPuit–Forchheimer assumptions with drainage density D, valley depth d, recharge rate R, and aquifer thickness H as inputs. The results are consistent with the published K values and reveal spatial variability.
File Format	PDF HTM / HTML
Alternate Webpage(s)	http://www.niu.edu/geog/images/Estimating%20hydraulic_2010.pdf
Alternate Webpage(s)	http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1268&context=geosciencefacpub
Language	English
Access Restriction	Open
Subject Keyword	Accessibility Coefficient Estimated Quadrangle (geography) Rechargeable battery Scientific Publication Spatial variability TYPSET and RUNOFF Thickness (graph theory) Topography Watershed (image processing)
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article