Science, Geology - HMP 2000
General science reports will be available at times during the field season.
Impact Geology StudiesTo understand the Haughton impact event; to study the relationship between impact shocked and unshocked lithologies at Haughton and in surrounding terrains on Devon Island; to study the nature, physical characteristics and structure of the Haughton impact breccia (impact-generated rubble); to explore the nature and duration of impact-induced hydrothermal activity; to investigate the subsurface structure and tectonic evolution of the impact crater; to characterize the geophysical signature of Haughton Crater; to characterize resolvable geological units in conjunction with remote-sensing surveys; to reconstruct the evolution of Haughton Crater through time, in particular its occupation by lakes and ice covers and its erosional history; to study the exposure and preservation of fossil records at the site; to explore possible geologic and astrobiological implications for Mars.
Tasks on HMP-2000: A wide variety of sites, both known sites of interest and new "unexplored" locations, will be visited on foot, by ATV and by helicopter. (Because of the necessity to compare shocked and unshocked crystalline basement rocks in studies of the impact breccia, excursions by helicopter to the nearest unshocked basement outcrops in north-central and eastern Devon Island will be necessary. Emphasis will also be placed on exploring the peripheral zone of Haughton Crater where many exposed faults will be examined in connection with hydrothermal and structural studies); collect rock samples where needed; conduct in-situ petrographic analyses by microscopy (at Base Camp); conduct additional aerial photographic surveys; continue an airborne magnetic survey begun in 1999; select sites for possible future research activities, in particular drilling, shallow and deep.
To understand the features and processes associated with the presence of ground-ice in the wide variety of materials and terrains present at Haughton and in its surroundings; to inventory and map periglacial features at the site in relation to environmental factors such as surface lithology and slope; to explore the role of ground-ice in slope erosion and valley formation, in particular active layer flows in the Haughton breccia; to study methods and strategies to map the distribution of ground-ice; to conduct comparative studies with Mars.
Tasks on HMP-2000: Ground-based and aerial surveys of periglacial formations will be continued at and around Haughton, on foot, by ATV, using an unmanned tethered balloon and by helicopter; data stored in field loggers set up in 1999 may be retrieved to characterize the physical environment at the surface and in the subsurface in a variety of geologic settings (Haughton breccia, Allen Bay Formation at Haynes Ridge, etc.); new year-round surface and subsurface environmental loggers will be installed and started, including a Campbell Scientific weather station.
To understand the origin of the wide variety of valleys and canyons at Haughton and in surrounding terrains on Devon Island, many of which present morphologic similarities with valleys on Mars; to understand the environmental circumstances of the origin of the valleys; to understand the factors that govern valley scale; to explore possible implications for Mars, in particular the climate(s) prevailing on Mars at times of valley formation.
Tasks on HMP-2000: Ground-based and aerial surveys of valleys at and near Haughton will be continued, on foot, by ATV, using an unmanned tethered balloon, and by helicopter (Because of the suspected important role of glaciation in the origin of many valleys on Devon, day-long excursions by helicopter to the Ice Cap on eastern Devon Island will be necessary; the variety of glacial meltwater channel networks present on Devon will be examined, with particular emphasis on the identification of diagnostic formational features such a valley floor slope reversals (indicative of subglacial flow); glacial trough valleys on Devon Island will be further surveyed, with an emphasis also on the identification of diagnostic formational features such a rim tors, but also field examinations of modern ice-filled trough valleys along the Ice Cap margins in eastern Devon Island.