View source for Astronomy:Pavonis Mons

{{short description|Martian volcano}}
{{Infobox feature on celestial object
|name        = Pavonis Mons
|image       = [[Image:Pavonis Mons THEMIS day IR 100m v11 0.5.jpg|240px|]]
|caption     = [[Engineering:Thermal Emission Imaging System|THEMIS]] daytime IR mosaic of Pavonis Mons. A large fan-shaped expanse of knobby deposits (the Pavonis Sulci) believed left by past glaciation extends northwestward from the mountain.
|coordinates = {{coord|1.48|N|247.04|E|globe:mars_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
|coordinates_footnotes = <ref>{{Gpn|4620}}</ref>
|peak        = {{cvt|8.7|km|abbr=on}} {{cvt|28543|ft|abbr=on}}
|discoverer  = [[Astronomy:Mariner 9|Mariner 9]] (1971)
|eponym      = Latin - ''Mount Peacock''
}}

'''Pavonis Mons''' {{IPAc-en|p|ə|'|v|ou|n|ᵻ|s|_|'|m|ɒ|n|z}}<ref>{{dict.com|Pavo}}<br>{{dict.com|Mons}}</ref> ([[Social:Latin|Latin]] for "peacock mountain") is a large [[Earth:Shield volcano|shield volcano]] located in the [[Astronomy:Tharsis|Tharsis]] region of the planet [[Astronomy:Mars|Mars]]. It is the middle member of a chain of three volcanic mountains (collectively known as the [[Astronomy:Tharsis Montes|Tharsis Montes]]) that straddle the Martian equator between longitudes 235°E and 259°E. The volcano was discovered by the [[Astronomy:Mariner 9|Mariner 9]] spacecraft in 1971, and was originally called Middle Spot.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Carr | first1 = Michael H. | doi = 10.1029/JB078i020p04049 | title = Volcanism on Mars | journal = Journal of Geophysical Research | year = 1973 | volume = 78 | issue = 20 | pages= 4049–4062 | bibcode=1973JGR....78.4049C}}</ref> Its name formally became Pavonis Mons in 1973.<ref name="planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov">{{cite web |title=Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature |url=http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/4620 |publisher=planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov}}</ref> The equatorial location of its peak and its height make it the ideal terminus for a [[Astronomy:Space elevator|space elevator]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Genta |first1=Giancarlo |title=Next Stop Mars |date=2017 |publisher=Springer |location=Switzerland |isbn=978-3-319-44311-9 |doi= 10.1007/978-3-319-44311-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Morton |first1=Oliver |title=Mapping Mars |date=October 4, 2002 |publisher=Picador |isbn=9780312707934 |page=296 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-FbuqCH5h50C&pg=PA296}}</ref> and it has often been proposed as a space elevator location, especially in science fiction.  It is also an ideal location for a [[Physics:Rocket sled launch|Sky Ramp]].

==General description==
[[Image:Tharsis Quadrangle map-la.svg|thumb|left|340px|Map of Tharsis quadrangle. Pavonis Mons is located at the southern edge.]]

Pavonis Mons stands at the southern edge of the [[Astronomy:Tharsis quadrangle|Tharsis quadrangle]] - approximately 400&nbsp;km southwest of [[Astronomy:Ascraeus Mons|Ascraeus Mons]] (the northernmost of the Tharsis Montes) and 400&nbsp;km northeast of [[Astronomy:Arsia Mons|Arsia Mons]] (the southernmost member of the chain). The Tharsis Montes volcanoes lie along the crest of a northeast-trending rise (Tharsis bulge) that extends more than 3,000&nbsp;km across the western equatorial region of Mars.<ref name=Scott98>Scott, D.H.; Dohm, J.M.; Zimbleman, J.R. (1998). Geologic Maps of Pavonis Mons, Mars. USGS, I-2561.</ref> [[Astronomy:Olympus Mons|Olympus Mons]], the largest volcano in the [[Astronomy:Solar System|Solar System]] lies at the edge of the Tharsis bulge, about 1,200&nbsp;km northwest of Pavonis Mons.

Pavonis Mons is the smallest of the Tharsis Montes volcanoes, measuring about 375&nbsp;km across<ref name="planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov"/> and standing 14&nbsp;km above Mars' mean surface level. As a [[Earth:Shield volcano|shield volcano]], Pavonis Mons has an extremely low profile with flank slopes that average only 4°.<ref>{{cite journal | last1= Plescia | first1= J. B. | title= Morphometric Properties of Martian Volcanoes | journal= Journal of Geophysical Research | volume= 109 | year= 2004 | doi = 10.1029/2002JE002031 |page=E03003 | bibcode=2004JGRE..109.3003P| doi-access= free }} Table 1.</ref> The summit contains a deep, circular [[Earth:Caldera|caldera]] that is 47&nbsp;km in diameter and almost 5&nbsp;km deep.<ref>{{cite book | last=Carr | first=Michael H. | publisher={{wipe|Cambridge University Press}} | isbn= 978-0-521-87201-0 | title= The Surface of Mars | url=https://archive.org/details/surfacemars00carr | url-access=limited |year=2006 | page= [https://archive.org/details/surfacemars00carr/page/n63 49] }}</ref> A larger, shallower depression lies immediately northeast of the smaller caldera. The large depression is about 90&nbsp;km in diameter and structurally more complex than the small caldera.<ref>Mouginis-Mark, P.J.; Harris, A.J.L.; Rowland, S.K. (2007). Terrestrial Analogs to the Calderas of the Tharsis Volcanoes on Mars in ''The Geology of Mars: Evidence from Earth-based Analogs,'' M. Chapman, Ed.; Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK, p. 76.</ref>

Like most of the Tharsis region, Pavonis Mons has a high [[Earth:Albedo|albedo]] (reflectivity) and low thermal inertia, indicating that the volcano and surrounding areas are covered with large amounts of fine dust (see [[Astronomy:Martian surface|Martian surface]]). The dust forms a mantle over the surface that obscures or mutes much of the fine-scale topography and geology of the region.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Zimbleman |first1= J.R. |year=1985 | title=Surface Properties of Ascraeus Mons: Dust Deposits on a Tharsis Volcano | journal=Lunar and Planetary Science | url=http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc1985/pdf/1477.pdf | bibcode = 1985LPI....16..934Z |volume=XVI |pages= 934–935}}</ref> Tharsis is probably dusty because of its high elevations. The summit experiences an atmospheric pressure of around 130 [[Pascal (unit)|Pa]] (1.3 mbar),<ref name="stanpav">[http://www-star.stanford.edu/projects/mgs/sum/s9906021536.html Martian Weather Observation] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311044532/http://www-star.stanford.edu/projects/mgs/sum/s9906021536.html |date=2007-03-11 }} NASA MGS data 0.7 degrees N 245.9 degrees E 13368 meters</ref> about 21% of Mars' mean surface pressure. The atmospheric density is too low to mobilize and remove dust once it is deposited.<ref>
{{cite book |last1= Hartmann |first1= W.K. |title= A Traveller's Guide to Mars: The Mysterious Landscapes of the Red Planet |publisher= Workman |location= New York |isbn= 978-0-7611-2606-5 |page= [https://archive.org/details/travelersguideto00will/page/59 59] |date= 2003-01-01 |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/travelersguideto00will/page/59 }}</ref>

==Geology==
[[Image:Pavonis mons topo.jpg|thumb|right|240px|MOLA colorized topography of Pavonis Mons]]

The bulk of the volcano's surface consists of lava flows of the early [[Astronomy:Amazonian (Mars)|Amazonian age]]. The northern flanks of the volcano are highly faulted with grabens and normal faults concentric to the volcano's summit caldera.<ref name=Scott98 /> To its lower east flank, there is a chain of elliptical, or oval-shaped, pits, lined up down the center of a shallow trough. These features were formed by faulting and associated collapse; the scarp on each side of the trough is a fault line.

===Glaciers===
Using [[Astronomy:Mars Global Surveyor|MGS]] and [[Astronomy:2001 Mars Odyssey|Odyssey]] data, combined with developments in the study of glaciers, scientists suggest that glaciers once existed on Pavonis Mons and probably still do to some extent.<ref>{{cite journal | last1= Shean | first1= David E. | title= Origin and Evolution of Cold-Based Tropical Mountain Glacier on Mars: the Pavonis Mons Fan-Shaped Deposit | journal= Journal of Geophysical Research | volume= 110 | year= 2005 | issue= E5 | pages= E05001 | doi = 10.1029/2004JE002360 | bibcode=2005JGRE..110.5001S| doi-access= free }}</ref><ref name="Carr2006">{{cite book|author=Michael H. Carr|title=The surface of Mars|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uLHlJ6sjohwC|access-date=21 March 2011|year=2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-87201-0}}</ref> Evidence for this includes concentric ridges (moraines "dropped" by glaciers), a knobby area (caused by ice sublimating), and a smooth section that flows over other deposits (debris-covered glacial ice).  The ice could have been deposited when the tilt of Mars changed the climate, thereby causing more moisture to be present in the atmosphere. Studies suggest the glaciation happened in the Late Amazonian period, the most recent period in Mars chronology.  Multiple stages of glaciation probably occurred.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Shean |first1=David E. |last2=Head |first2=James W. |last3=Marchant |first3=David R. |title=Origin and evolution of a cold-based tropical mountain glacier on Mars: The Pavonis Mons fan-shaped deposit |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research |date=2005 |volume=110 |issue=E5 |pages=E05001 |doi=10.1029/2004JE002360 |url=http://www.mars.asu.edu/christensen/advancedmarsclass/shean_glaciers_2005.pdf |bibcode=2005JGRE..110.5001S}}</ref> The ice present today represents one more resource for possible future colonization of the planet.

===Possible evidence of plate tectonics===
Pavonis Mons is the middle of three volcanos (collectively known as Tharsis Montes) on the Tharsis bulge near the equator of the planet Mars. The other Tharsis volcanoes are Ascraeus Mons and Arsia Mons.  The three Tharsis Montes, together with some smaller volcanoes to the north, form a fairly straight line.  It has been proposed that this straight line of volcanoes is the result of the sort of plate motion which on Earth makes [[Earth:Hotspot (geology)#Hotspot volcanic chains|chains of "hot spot" volcanoes]].<ref>{{Cite book | isbn=978-0-521-86698-9|title = The Martian Surface: Composition, Mineralogy and Physical Properties|last1 = Bell|first1 = Jim| date=2008-06-05| publisher=Cambridge University Press }}</ref><ref>
{{cite journal | last1 = Sleep | first1 = Norman H. | doi = 10.1029/94JE00216 | title = Martian plate tectonics | journal = Journal of Geophysical Research | year = 1994 | volume = 99 | issue = E3 | pages=  5639–5655 | bibcode = 1994JGR....99.5639S | citeseerx = 10.1.1.452.2751 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | isbn=978-0-521-85226-5|title = Mars: An Introduction to its Interior, Surface and Atmosphere|last1 = Barlow|first1 = Nadine| date=2008-01-10| publisher=Cambridge University Press }}</ref><ref>[http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/12/16/mars-shell-tectonics.html dsc.discovery.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110603234812/http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/12/16/mars-shell-tectonics.html |date=2011-06-03 }}</ref><ref>
{{cite journal | last1 = Connerney | first1 = J. E. P. | doi = 10.1073/pnas.0507469102 | title = Tectonic implications of Mars crustal magnetism | journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | year = 2005 | volume = 102  | issue = 42 | pages=  14970–14975 | pmc=1250232 | pmid=16217034|bibcode = 2005PNAS..10214970C | doi-access = free }}
</ref>

==In popular culture==
* Pavonis Mons provides the putative setting for the song "Approaching Pavonis Mons by Balloon (Utopia Planitia)" by The Flaming Lips, released as part of the album ''Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots''.
* In [[Biography:Kim Stanley Robinson|Kim Stanley Robinson]]'s ''Mars Trilogy'', Mars's [[Astronomy:Space elevator|space elevator]] has its base on the southern rim of Pavonis – the highest place on the equator – and the city of Sheffield is built around it.
* Pavonis Mons is also the base of Mars's [[Astronomy:Space elevator|space elevator]] in the GURPS [[Philosophy:Transhuman Space|Transhuman Space]] roleplaying game setting. The city of New Shanghai, the largest on Mars, is built around the elevator. [[Astronomy:Deimos (moon)|Deimos]] is used as the anchor, having been shifted from its current orbit.<ref name=Nygren>{{cite book |last1=Nygren |first1=Ezekial |title=Hypothetical Spacecraft and Interstellar Travel |date=February 28, 2015 |publisher=Lulu |isbn=9781312955929 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u5B0CQAAQBAJ&pg=PA201}}</ref> Pavonis Mons also hosts a space elevator in other GURPS settings, including GURPS Mars.
* Pavonis Mons hosts a space elevator to Deimos in the ''Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'' franchise.<ref name=Nygren />
* Pavonis Mons is the name of a Settlement Defense Front destroyer in the game Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare in the mission "Operation Deep Execute", Captain Khosi Siyada was the ship's commander.

==Gallery==
<gallery class="center"  widths="190px" heights="180px" >
File:Pavonis Mons PIA05243.jpg|Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) wide angle color composite image
File:Pavonis Summit Dust PIA07421.jpg|[[Astronomy:Mars Global Surveyor|Mars Global Surveyor]] MOC image showing mantle of dust near summit of Pavonis Mons. The dust makes the image look blurry.
File:Channels South Pavonis PIA04712.jpg|[[Engineering:Thermal Emission Imaging System|THEMIS]] image of channels and pits on southern flank of Pavonis Mons.
Image:Possible Cinder Cone on the Southern Flank of Pavonis Mons.jpg|A [[Earth:Cinder cone|cinder cone]] on southern flank of Pavonis Mons.
File:Pavoniscaldeira.jpg|The summit [[Earth:Caldera|caldera]] of Pavonis Mons
File:MarsHole-Near-PavonisMons-20200301.jpg|HiRISE image (color) of a 35 m wide [[Earth:Lava tube|lava tube]] skylight surrounded by a collapse pit on Pavonis Mons
File:Pavonis Mons lava tube skylight crop.jpg|HiRISE image of a 35 m wide [[Earth:Lava tube|lava tube]] skylight surrounded by a collapse pit on Pavonis Mons
File:Pavonis Mons eastern flank lava tube skylight crop sharp.jpg|HiRISE image of a 180 m wide lava tube skylight on the volcano's southeast flank
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Astronomy:List of mountains on Mars by height|List of mountains on Mars by height]]
* [[Astronomy:Tharsis quadrangle|Tharsis quadrangle]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/i2561/ Geologic Map of Pavonis Mons Volcano, Mars, available as 16.3 Mb PDF file, U.S. Geological Survey 1998]
*{{APOD |date=18 July 2012|title=A Hole in Mars}}

{{Mars}}


[[Category:Mountains on Mars]]
[[Category:Shield volcanoes]]
[[Category:Volcanoes of Mars]]
[[Category:Phoenicis Lacus quadrangle]]
[[Category:Tharsis quadrangle]]

{{Sourceattribution|Pavonis Mons}}