Martian gullies and their Earth analogues: introduction

Abstract

Martian gullies are widespread landforms in the mid-latitudes of Mars. When the first reports of these kilometre-scale features were published in 2000, they were controversially hailed as a sign of recent flows of liquid water on the surface of Mars. This supposition was contrary to our understanding of recent environmental conditions on Mars, under which water should not exist in its liquid form. In response to their discovery, researchers proposed a wide range of scenarios to explain this apparent paradox, including scenarios driven by CO2, climate change or the presence of a liquid water aquifer. This Special Publication is a collection of papers arising from the topics discussed at the Second International Workshop on Martian Gullies held at the Geological Society, London. A review paper opens the Special Publication and thereafter the papers are presented under three themes: Martian remote sensing, Earth analogues and laboratory simulations. This Special Publication establishes the state of the art in Martian gully research, presents the latest observations and interpretations of the present-day activity and long-term evolution of Martian gullies, explores the role of Earth analogues, highlights novel experimental work and identifies future avenues of research. The importance of gullies as a potential marker of habitable environments on Mars underlines their importance in framing space exploration programmes.