The 1997 Mars Pathfinder Spacecraft Landing Site: Spillover Deposits from an Early Mars Inland Sea.

The Martian outflow channels comprise some of the largest known channels in the Solar System. Remote-sensing investigations indicate that cataclysmic floods likely excavated the channels ~3.4 Ga. Previous studies show that, in the southern circum-Chryse region, their flooding pathways include hundreds of kilometers of channel floors with upward gradients. However, the impact of the reversed channel-floor topography on the cataclysmic floods remains uncertain. Here, we show that these channel floors occur within a vast basin, which separates the downstream reaches of numerous outflow channels from the northern plains. Consequently, floods propagating through these channels must have ponded, producing an inland sea, before reaching the northern plains as enormous spillover discharges. The resulting paleohydrological reconstruction reinterprets the 1997 Pathfinder landing site as part of a marine spillway, which connected the inland sea to a hypothesized northern plains ocean. Our flood simulation shows that the presence of the sea would have permitted the propagation of low-depth floods beyond the areas of reversed channel-floor topography. These results explain the formation at the landing site of possible fluvial features indicative of flow depths at least an order of magnitude lower than those apparent from the analyses of orbital remote-sensing observations.

Characterization of radon levels in soil and groundwater in the North Maladeta Fault area (Central Pyrenees) and their effects on indoor radon concentration in a thermal spa.

Radon levels in the soil and groundwater in the North Maladeta Fault area (located in the Aran Valley sector, Central Pyrenees) are analysed from both geological and radiation protection perspectives. This area is characterized by the presence of two important normal faults: the North Maladeta fault (NMF) and the Tredós Fault (TF). Two primary aspects make this study interesting: (i) the NMF shows geomorphic evidence of neotectonic activity and (ii) the presence of a thermal spa, Banhs de Tredós, which exploits one of the several natural springs of the area and needs to be evaluated for radiation dosing from radon according to the European regulation on basic safety standards for protection against ionizing radiation. The average soil radon and thoron concentrations along a profile perpendicular to the two normal faults - 22 ±â€¯3 kBq·m-3 and 34 ±â€¯3 kBq·m-3, respectively - are not high and can be compared to the radionuclide content of the granitic rocks of the area, 25 ±â€¯4 Bq·kg-1 for 226Ra and 38 ±â€¯2 Bq·kg-1 for 224Ra. However, the hypothesis that the normal faults are still active is supported by the presence of anomalies in both the soil radon and thoron levels that are unlikely to be of local origin together with the presence of similar anomalies in CO2 fluxes and the fact that the highest groundwater radon values are located close to the normal faults. Additionally, groundwater 222Rn data have complemented the hydrochemistry data, enabling researchers to better distinguish between water pathways in the granitic and non-granitic aquifers. Indoor radon levels in the spa vary within a wide range, [7-1664] Bq·m-3 because the groundwater used in the treatment rooms is the primary source of radon in the air. Tap water radon levels inside the spa present an average value of 50 ±â€¯8 kBq·m-3, which does not exceed the level stipulated by the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) of 100 kBq·m-3 for water used for human consumption. This finding implies that even relatively low radon concentration values in water can constitute a relevant indoor radon source when the transfer from water to indoor air is efficient. The estimated effective dose range of values for a spa worker due to radon inhalation is [1-9] mSv·y-1. The use of annual averaged radon concentration values may significantly underestimate the dose in these situations; therefore, a detailed dynamic study must be performed by considering the time that the workers spend in the spa.

Soil radon dynamics in the Amer fault zone: An example of very high seasonal variations.

Soil radon levels of the Amer fault zone have been measured for a 4 year-period with the aim of checking seasonal fluctuations obtained in previous studies and to understand radon origin and dynamics. In this manuscript additional results are presented: updated continuous and integrated soil radon measurements, radionuclide content of soil materials and a detailed analysis of an urban profile by means of the electrical resistivity imaging technique and punctual soil radon, thoron and CO2 measurements. Integrated and continuous measurements present a wide range of values, [0.2-151.6] kBq m(-3) for radon, [4.5-39.6] kBq m(-3) for thoron and [4.0-71.2] g m(-2) day(-1) for CO2. The highest soil radon levels in the vicinity of the Amer fault (>40 kBq m(-3)) are found close to the fractured areas and present very important fluctuations repeated every year, with values in summer much higher than in winter, confirming previous studies. The highest radon values, up to 150 kBq m(-3), do not have a local origin because the mean value of radium concentration in this soil (19 ± 5 Bq kg(-1)) could not explain these values. Then soil radon migration through the fractures, influenced by atmospheric parameters, is assumed to account for such a high seasonal fluctuation. As main conclusion, in fractured areas, seasonal variations of soil radon concentration can be very important even in places where average soil radon concentration and radium content are not especially high. In these cases the migration capability of the soil is given not by intrinsic permeability but by the fracture structure. Potential risk estimation based on soil radon concentration and intrinsic permeability must be complemented with geological information in fractured systems.