# Cerberus Fossae

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Cerberus_Fossae
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Cerberus_Fossae.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerberus_Fossae
> Source revision: 1321184474
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

Series of semi-parallel fissures on Mars formed by faults

Cerberus Fossae Closeup of several Cerberus Fossae troughs, as seen by HiRISE (scale bar is 1.0 km) Coordinates 11°54′N 188°48′E / 11.9°N 188.8°E / 11.9; 188.8 Length 1,630.0 km Naming From albedo feature at 10n, 212W. Changed from Cerberus Rupes.

The **Cerberus Fossae** are a series of semi-parallel fissures on [Mars](/source/Mars) formed by faults which pulled the crust apart in the [Cerberus region](/source/Cerberus_(Mars)). They are 1235 km across and centered at 11.28 °N and 166.37 °E. Their northernmost latitude is 16.16 °N and their southernmost latitude 6.23 °N. Their easternmost and westernmost longitudes are 174.72 °E and 154.43 °E, respectively. They can be seen in the [Elysium quadrangle](/source/Elysium_quadrangle).[1]

Ripples seen at the bottom of the faults are sand blown by the wind.[2] Numerical modeling of the forces in the crust of Mars suggest that the underlying cause for the faulting is the deformation caused by the Tharsis volcanoes to the east and Elysium to the west. The faults are quite young, cutting through pre-existing features such as the hills of the Tartarus Montes and the lava apron southeast of Elysium Mons.[3] The formation of the fossae was suspected to have released pressurized underground water, previously confined by the [cryosphere](/source/Cryosphere), with flow rates up to 2 million m3/s, leading to the creation of the [Athabasca Valles](/source/Athabasca_Valles).[4][5][6] [Marte Vallis](/source/Marte_Vallis) is another channel that was suggested to have formed from water released from Cerberus Fossae.[7] Crater counts suggest this last outflow from the Cerberus Fossae took place about 2 to 10 million years ago. Later even younger (0.05-0.2 million years from present) volcanic deposit was detected, suggesting volcanic activity may be still ongoing.[8]

There has been a suggestion such high discharges of water to the surface through these fissures are physically implausible [*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] and that lava was the fluid erupted from the Cerberus Fossae. The flood of lava would have had a volume of about 5,000 cubic kilometres (1,200 mi3), typical of [flood basalt](/source/Flood_basalt) eruptions on Earth. At these high discharges, lava behaved in many ways like a flood of water. The flowing lava eroded parts of the Athabasca Valles and then filled the Cerberus Palus basin. The rafted plates of lava in this 800 by 900 km (500 by 560 mi) temporary lava pond are similar in appearance to pack ice seen in the [North Sea](/source/North_Sea).[9] [*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

Some of the cracks are situated at the top of a topographic rise and are surrounded by flow features, indicating they served as volcanic vents, and others are on completely flat terrain without flow features, indicating they are fractures.[10]

The Cerberus Fossae area has been positively identified as the first tectonically active region on Mars, with [marsquakes](/source/Marsquake) being geolocated there by seismometer measurements from the NASA [InSight](/source/InSight) lander in 2019;[11][12] this activity was previously suspected on the basis of the trails of dislodged boulders.[13]

In November 2020, astronomers reported newly found evidence for [volcanic activity](/source/Volcanism_on_Mars), as recently as 53,000 years ago, on the [planet Mars](/source/Mars). Such activity could have provided the environment with energy and chemicals needed to support [life forms](/source/Life_form).[14][15] This specific geological unit is where most of the current seismic activity of the planet is located.[16]

## Gallery

		- [THEMIS](/source/Thermal_Emission_Imaging_System) mosaic of the Cerberus Fossae region. The [Athabasca Valles](/source/Athabasca_Valles) [outflow channels](/source/Outflow_channel) emerge from fissures at lower left. (The large image may be more easily viewed at full resolution with [ZoomViewer](https://tools.wmflabs.org/zoomviewer/index.php?f=Cerberus%20Fossae%20THEMIS%20day%20IR%20v13.1.jpg&flash=no).)

		- One of the Cerberus Fossae, as seen by THEMIS

		- Wind-blown material darkens areas around a Cerberus Fossae trough (scale bar for [HiRISE](/source/HiRISE) image is 500 m)

		- A 3 km section of a Cerberus Fossae fissure, taken by the [Mars Global Surveyor](/source/Mars_Global_Surveyor) (MGS) [Mars Orbiter Camera](/source/Mars_Orbiter_Camera) (MOC)

		- Angular unconformity in the Cerberus Fossae, as seen by [HiRISE](/source/HiRISE) (click on image to see the angles of the layers)

		- Portion of a trough (fossa) in [Elysium](/source/Elysium_(volcanic_province)), as seen by HiRISE under the HiWish program (blue indicates probably seasonal frost)

## See also

- [Fossa (planetary nomenclature)](/source/Fossa_(planetary_nomenclature)) – Long, narrow, shallow depression

- [Geology of Mars](/source/Geology_of_Mars) – Geology of fourth planet from the Sun

- [HiRISE](/source/HiRISE) – Camera on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

- [HiWish program](/source/HiWish_program) – NASA program for public suggestions for MRO images

- [Lakes on Mars](/source/Lakes_on_Mars) – Former bodies of water on Mars

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-USGS_Cerberus_Fossae_1-0)** ["Cerberus Fossae"](https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/1109). *Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature*. [USGS Astrogeology Science Center](/source/USGS_Astrogeology_Science_Center). Retrieved 7 May 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Cerberus Fossae Trough"](https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05498). *Nasa.gov*. Nasa. Retrieved 19 April 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Cerberus Fossae"](http://themis.asu.edu/zoom-20050321a). *Asu.edu*. [Arizona State University](/source/Arizona_State_University). Retrieved 19 April 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** James W. Head; Lionel Wilson; Karl L. Mitchell (2003). ["Generation of recent massive water floods at Cerberus Fossae, Mars by dike emplacement, cryospheric cracking, and confined aquifer groundwater release"](https://web.archive.org/web/20121112113600/http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2003/2003GL017135.shtml). *[Geophysical Research Letters](/source/Geophysical_Research_Letters)*. **30** (11): 2265. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2003GeoRL..30.1577H](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2003GeoRL..30.1577H). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1029/2003GL017135](https://doi.org/10.1029%2F2003GL017135). Archived from [the original](http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2003/2003GL017135.shtml) on 12 November 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2007.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Cabrol, N. and E. Grin (eds.). 2010. Lakes on Mars. Elsevier. NY

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Burr, D. et al. 2002. Repeated aqueous flooding from the Cerberus Fossae: evidence for very recently extant deep groundwater on Mars. Icarus. 159: 53-73.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Gareth, A. B. Campbell, L. Carter, J. Plaut, R. Phillips. 2013. 3D Reconstruction of the Source and Scale of Buried Young Flood Channels on Mars. Science, 7 March, DOI:10.1126/Science.1234787

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Horvath, David G.; Moitra, Pranabendu; Hamilton, Christopher W.; Craddock, Robert A.; Andrews-Hanna, Jeffrey C. (2021), "Evidence for geologically recent explosive volcanism in Elysium Planitia, Mars", *Icarus*, **365** 114499, [arXiv](/source/ArXiv_(identifier)):[2011.05956](https://arxiv.org/abs/2011.05956), [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2021Icar..36514499H](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021Icar..36514499H), [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1016/j.icarus.2021.114499](https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.icarus.2021.114499), [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [226299879](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:226299879)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Young, Kelly (25 February 2005). ["'Pack ice' suggests frozen sea on Mars"](https://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7039). [New Scientist](/source/New_Scientist). Retrieved 30 January 2007.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Lakdawalla2010_10-0)** [Lakdawalla, E.](/source/Emily_Lakdawalla) (12 July 2010). ["3D Anaglyph: Troughs or vents in Cerberus Fossae?"](https://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2010/2580.html). *www.planetary.org/blogs*. [The Planetary Society](/source/The_Planetary_Society). Retrieved 17 December 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Witze2019_11-0)** Witze, A. (2019). ["'Marsquakes' reveal red planet's hidden geology"](https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fd41586-019-03796-7). *Nature*. **576** (7787): 348. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2019Natur.576..348W](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2019Natur.576..348W). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1038/d41586-019-03796-7](https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fd41586-019-03796-7). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [31848480](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31848480).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Giardini2020_12-0)** Giardini, D.; Lognonné, P.; Banerdt, W. B.; et al. (2020). ["The seismicity of Mars"](https://oatao.univ-toulouse.fr/25963/1/Giardini_25963.pdf) (PDF). *Nature Geoscience*. **13** (3): 205–212. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2020NatGe..13..205G](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2020NatGe..13..205G). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1038/s41561-020-0539-8](https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fs41561-020-0539-8). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [211266223](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:211266223).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Roberts2012_13-0)** Roberts, G.P.; Matthews, B.; Bristow, C.; Guerrieri, L.; Vetterlein, J. (2012). ["Possible evidence of paleomarsquakes from fallen boulder populations, Cerberus Fossae, Mars"](https://doi.org/10.1029%2F2011JE003816). *Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets*. **117** (E2): E02009. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2012JGRE..117.2009R](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012JGRE..117.2009R). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1029/2011JE003816](https://doi.org/10.1029%2F2011JE003816).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-NYT-20201120_14-0)** O'Callaghan, Jonathan (20 November 2020). ["Signs of Recent Volcanic Eruption on Mars Hint at Habitats for Life - Not thought to be volcanically active, Mars may have experienced an eruption just 53,000 years ago"](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/20/science/mars-volcano-eruption.html). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. Retrieved 25 November 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ARX-20201111_15-0)** Horvath, David G.; et al. (2021). "Evidence for geologically recent explosive volcanism in Elysium Planitia, Mars". *Icarus*. **365** 114499. [arXiv](/source/ArXiv_(identifier)):[2011.05956v1](https://arxiv.org/abs/2011.05956v1). [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2021Icar..36514499H](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021Icar..36514499H). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1016/j.icarus.2021.114499](https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.icarus.2021.114499). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [226299879](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:226299879).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** Stähler, Simon C.; Mittelholz, Anna; Perrin, Cleément; Kawamura, Taichi; Kim, Doyeon; Knapmeyer, Martin; Zenhäusern, Géraldine; Clinton, John; Giardini, Domenico; Lognonné, Philippe; Banerdt, W. Bruce (27 October 2022). "Tectonics of Cerberus Fossae unveiled by marsquakes". *Nature Astronomy*. [arXiv](/source/ArXiv_(identifier)):[2206.15136](https://arxiv.org/abs/2206.15136). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1038/s41550-022-01803-y](https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fs41550-022-01803-y).

v t e Geography and geology of Mars Cartography Regions Abalos Undae Aspledon Undae Arabia Terra Cerberus Cydonia Eridania Lake Hyperboreae Undae Ogygis Undae Olympia Undae Planum Australe Planum Boreum Quadrangles Sinus Meridiani Siton Undae Tempe Terra Terra Cimmeria Terra Sabaea Tharsis Vastitas Borealis Quadrangles Aeolis Amazonis Amenthes Arabia Arcadia Argyre Casius Cebrenia Coprates Diacria Elysium Eridania Hellas Iapygia Ismenius Lacus Lunae Palus Mare Acidalium Mare Australe (South Pole) Mare Boreum (North Pole) Mare Tyrrhenum Margaritifer Sinus Memnonia Noachis Oxia Palus Phaethontis Phoenicis Lacus Sinus Sabaeus Syrtis Major Tharsis Thaumasia Geology Surface features Brain terrain Carbonates Chaos terrain Color Composition Concentric crater fill Dark slope streak Dichotomy Dune fields Hagal Nili Patera Fretted terrain Geysers Glaciers Groundwater Gullies Inverted relief Lakes Lava tubes Lineated valley fill (LVF) Lobate debris apron North Polar Basin Ocean hypothesis Ore resources Outflow channels Polar caps Ring mold craters Rootless cones Scalloped topography Seasonal flows Soil Spherules Surface Swiss cheese features Terrain softening Tholus Upper plains unit Valley networks Water discovery chronology Yardangs History Amazonian Hesperian Noachian Volcanology Observation history Canals (list) Classical albedo features Rocks observed Curiosity rover Bathurst Inlet Coronation Goulburn Hottah Jake Matijevic Link Rocknest Rocknest 3 Tintina Opportunity rover Bounce El Capitan Last Chance Sojourner rover Barnacle Bill Yogi Spirit rover Adirondack Home Plate Mimi Pot of Gold Viking Big Joe Other Face Monolith Meteorites found on Mars Block Island Heat Shield Mackinac Island Meridiani Planum Oileán Ruaidh Shelter Island Martian meteorites found on Earth Balsaltic Breccia Chassignites Nakhlites Shergottites Other List Topography Mountains, volcanoes (list by height) Acidalia Colles Alba Mons Anseris Mons Apollinaris Mons Ariadnes Colles Astapus Colles Ausonia Montes Avernus Colles Biblis Tholus Centauri Montes Charitum Montes Echus Montes Elysium Elysium Mons Albor Tholus Hecates Tholus Erebus Montes Galaxius Mons Hadriacus Mons Hellas Montes Jovis Tholus Libya Montes Mount Sharp Nereidum Montes Olympus Mons Phlegra Montes Syrtis Major Planum Tartarus Colles Tartarus Montes Tharsis Montes Ascraeus Pavonis Arsia Tharsis Tholus Tyrrhenus Mons Ulysses Tholus Uranius group Uranius Mons Ceraunius Tholus Uranius Tholus Plains, plateaus Acidalia Planitia Aeolis Palus Amazonis Planitia Arcadia Planitia Argentea Planum Argyre Planitia Chryse Planitia Daedalia Planum Elysium Planitia Eridania Planitia Hellas Planitia Hesperia Planum Icaria Planum Isidis Planitia Lunae Planum Meridiani Planum Oxia Planum Planum Australe Planum Boreum Syria Planum Syrtis Major Planum Utopia Planitia Eden Patera Orcus Patera Peneus Patera Pityusa Patera Siloe Patera Canyons, valleys Aram Chaos Arsia Chasmata Aromatum Chaos Atlantis Chaos Aureum Chaos Candor Chasma Chasma Boreale Coprates Chasma Echus Chasma Eos Chaos Eos Chasma Galaxias Chaos Ganges Chasma Gorgonum Chaos Hebes Chasma Hydaspis Chaos Hydraotes Chaos Iani Chaos Ister Chaos Ius Chasma Juventae Chasma Melas Chasma Ophir Chasma Tithonium Chasma List of valles Apsus Ares Arnus Asopus Athabasca Auqakuh Bahram Buvinda Dao Enipeus Frento Granicus Green Valley Harmakhis Hebrus Her Desher Hrad Huo Hsing Hypanis Iberus Indus Ituxi Kasei Labou Ladon Lethe Licus Louros Maʼadim Mad Maja Mamers Mangala Marineris Labes Marte Maumee Mawrth Minio Naktong Nanedi Niger Nirgal Padus Paraná Patapsco Peace Rahway Ravi Reull Sabis Sabrina Samara Scamander Shalbatana Simud Stura Tader Tinia Tinjar Tiu Tyras Uzboi ULM Vedra Verde Warrego Fossae, mensae, rupes, labyrinthi Amenthes Fossae Ceraunius Fossae Cerberus Fossae Coloe Fossae Cyane Fossae Elysium Fossae Hephaestus Fossae Icaria Fossae Labeatis Fossae Mangala Fossa Mareotis Fossae Medusae Fossae Memnonia Fossae Nili Fossae Olympica Fossae Oti Fossae Sirenum Fossae Tantalus Fossae Tempe Fossae Tithonium Fossae Tractus Fossae Ulysses Fossae Aeolis Mensae Ausonia Mensa Capri Mensa Cydonia Mensae Deuteronilus Mensae Ganges Mensa Nilosyrtis Mensae Protonilus Mensae Sacra Mensa Claritas Rupes Nilokeras Scopulus Olympus Rupes Rupes Tenuis Angustus Labyrinthus Noctis Labyrinthus Catenae, craters Artynia Catena Tithoniae Catenae Tractus Catena Adams Agassiz Airy Airy-0 Aniak Antoniadi Arandas Argo Arkhangelsky Arrhenius Asimov Bacolor Bakhuysen Baldet Baltisk Bamberg Barabashov Barnard Beagle Becquerel Beer Belz Bernard Bianchini Boeddicker Bok Bond Bonestell Bonneville Brashear Briault Burroughs Burton Campbell Canso Cassini Caxias Cerulli Chafe Chapais Chincoteague Chryse Alien Clark Coblentz Columbus Copernicus Corby Crewe Crivitz Crommelin Cruls Curie Da Vinci Danielson Darwin Davies Dawes Dejnev Denning Dilly Dinorwic Douglass Dromore Du Martheray Eagle (Acidalia Planitia) Eagle (Meridiani Planum) Eberswalde Eddie Ejriksson Emma Dean Endeavour Matijevic Hill Endurance Erebus Escalante Eudoxus Fenagh Fesenkov Firsoff Flammarion Flaugergues Focas Fontana Fournier Fram Freedom Galdakao Gale Galle Garni Gasa Gilbert Gill Gledhill Gold Graff Green Grindavik Gusev Apollo 1 Hills Chaffee Grissom White Columbia Hills Husband McCool Sleepy Hollow Hadley Haldane Hale Halley Hargraves Hartwig Heaviside Heimdal Heinlein Helmholtz Henry Herschel Hipparchus Holden Holmes Hooke Huggins Hussey Hutton Huxley Huygens Iazu Ibragimov Inuvik Janssen Jarry-Desloges Jeans Jezero Jezža Joly Jones Kaiser Keeler Kepler Kinkora Kipini Knobel Koga Korolev Kufra Kuiper Kunowsky Lambert Lamont Lampland Lassell Lau Le Verrier Li Fan Liais Lipik Liu Hsin Llanesco Lockyer Lod Lohse Lomonosov Louth Lowell Lyell Lyot Mädler Magelhaens Maggini Main Mandora Maraldi Mariner Marth Martz Masursky Maunder McLaughlin McMurdo Mellish Mendel Mie Milankovic Millochau Mitchel Miyamoto Mohawk Mojave Molesworth Montevallo Moreux Müller Nansen Nereus Newton Nhill Nicholson Niesten Nipigon Onon Orson Welles Oudemans Palana Pangboche Pasteur Penticton Perepelkin Peridier Persbo Pettit Phillips Pickering Playfair Pollack Poona Porter Porth Priestley Proctor Ptolemaeus Puńsk Quenisset Rabe Radau Rahe Rayleigh Redi Renaudot Reuyl Reynolds Richardson Ritchey Robert Sharp Roddenberry Ross Rossby Rudaux Russell Rutherford Sagan Saheki Santa Maria Schaeberle Schiaparelli Schmidt Secchi Semeykin Sharonov Sibu Sinton Sitka Sklodowska Slipher Smith South Spallanzani Srīpur Steno Stokes Stoney Suess Suzhi Tarsus Taytay Teisserenc de Bort Terby Thila Thira Tikhonravov Tikhov Timbuktu Tombaugh Tooting Trouvelot Troy Trud Trumpler Tugaske Tycho Brahe Tyndall Udzha Vernal Very Victoria Cape Verde Vinogradov Vinogradsky Virrat Vishniac Vogel Von Kármán Vostok Wallace Wegener Weinbaum Wells Williams Winslow Wirtz Wislicenus Wright Yuty Zumba Zunil

[Portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents/Portals):
- [Solar System](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Solar_System)

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Cerberus Fossae](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerberus_Fossae) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerberus_Fossae?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.