Project Title

Paleolake Deposits in Miers Valley, Antarctica: An Analog Depositional Record for Martian Lakes Through Late Noachian to Early Hesperian Climatic Transitions

Summary

Event Number:
G-080-M
NASA - 20-SSW20-0117

Program Director:
(Other)

ASC POC/Implementer:
Ryan Steiner / Jenny Cunningham

Principal Investigator(s)

Dr. Frances Rivera-Hernandez
friverah@gatech.edu
Georgia Institute of Technology
School of Earth and Atmospheric Science
Atlanta, Georgia

Location

Supporting Stations: McMurdo Station
Research Locations: Miers Valley

Description

This is a field-based Mars analogue study of Antarctic paleolake deposits in Miers Valley in the McMurdo Dry Valleys. The Miers Valley deposits offer a unique opportunity to calibrate models for perennially ice-covered lake (PICL) depositional characteristics (i.e., facies) in response to climatic changes, in a location where detailed paleo-climate records exist. Such facies models are needed to assess if Martian paleolakes were similarly ice-covered and can help predict changes in lake properties of modern PICLs on Earth that may affect aquatic ecosystems in the future.

Field Season Overview

Four participants will deploy in mid-December 2026 to McMurdo Station then put in to a remote tent camp in the eastern basin of Miers Valley to conduct field work for 3 weeks. Work will include a 2- to 3-day reconnaissance of the study area, differential GPS surveys with EarthScope-provided instruments, sediment characterization using principal investigator-provided handheld instruments, imaging outcrop exposures for photogrammetry and geologic sampling, and acquisition of topographic data (with overlaid visible images) using a lidar-mounted backpack to help map the extent of paleolake deposits and paleoshorelines in the valley floor. The science team will also collect samples, including sediment samples from stream cuts, small excavations, and sediment peels, as well as water samples from glacial streams. If sediments are ice-cemented, the team will use a handheld drill provided by the National Science Foundation Ice Drilling Program to collect shallow cores within 1 meter of the surface. Excavations will be logged and back-filled. In total, about 350 pounds of samples will be collected. Upon completion of work, the team will return to McMurdo to prepare samples for vessel shipment then redeploy in late January.

Deploying Team Members