Spider-Ravine Models and Plant-Like Features on Mars – Possible Geophysical and Biogeophysical Modes of Origin

P.K. Ness (2002), JBIS, 55, 85-108

Refcode: 2002.55.85

Abstract:
The morphology of `spiders’ appears to be controlled by bedding and local jointing of the rocks; implying that expelled fluids are derived from within a few hundred metres of the Martian surface. Some spider-ravines modify, some destroy and others create crust in a dynamic near-surface process that mimics subduction zones. Ancient forms of these structures have had a more extensive coverage. Some complex `spiders’ may revert to ravines in the summer.