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Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms pp 1–6Cite as

Basal Scarp

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Definition

Steep-walled, several km high perimeter of Olympus Mons volcano on Mars.

Synonyms

Basal escarpment; Eastern Olympus Mons basal scarp, EOMBS; Perimeter scarp

Description

The 600–800 km diameter, 23 km high Olympus Mons shield volcano is partially bounded by an escarpment with a height up to 10 km (McGovern et al. 2004; Figs. 1–3). The basal scarp is a roughly concentric feature composed of linear, concave, and convex segments separated by radial fractures (Geological Survey 1981). The scarp serves as a break between volcanic flow structures; above the basal scarp lava channels dominate, while below it tabular sheets are representative of lava emplacement (Bleacher et al. 2007). Beyond the scarp there are large aureoles (Tanaka 1985), and closer to the flank of Olympus Mons, various features interpreted as mass movement features and debris-covered piedmont glaciers are present (Basilevsky et al. 2005; Milkovich et al. 2006).

Fig. 1
figure 1

The basal scarp outlines Olympus Mons in the...

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Earth Science, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, MS-126, Houston, TX, 77005, USA

    Matt B. Weller

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  1. Matt B. Weller
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Correspondence to Matt B. Weller .

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Weller, M.B. (2014). Basal Scarp. In: Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_14-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_14-1

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  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-9213-9

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