White Mars Image Gallery

A high-resolution Mars Global Surveyor image of Nanedi Vallis, a valley that is typical of many Martian features that look like dry riverbeds on Earth. Many scientists think these features were carved by Martian rivers billions of years ago, but Nick Hoffman's White Mars model offers alternative possibilities.

A wide-field Viking image of Nanedi Vallis. The area inside the Mars Global Surveyor image at right is shown in the white box.

This wide-field Viking image shows one of the chaos collapse zones on Mars. These are the places where many scientists think catastrophic floods originated. But outbursts of liquid carbon dioxide could also create these features. The area in the white box is shown in the image below at high resolution from Mars Global Surveyor.

Another region where liquid material from deep down suddenly gushed to the surface, causing the ground to collapse. But was this liquid water
or carbon dioxide? This is a Viking image from the 1970s.

As this Viking image shows, a few of Mars's narrow channels show a branching morphology, which is characteristic of river valley networks on Earth. Explaining these features might be the biggest challenge for Nick Hoffman's White Mars model.

This mosaic of wide-field Mars Global Surveyor images shows an entire hemisphere of Mars. Valles Marineris is at lower right. Note the clouds clustering around the summits of Mars's giant volcanoes, including Olympus Mons at center-left.

A high-resolution Mars Global Surveyor image shows in great detail one of these chaos collapse zones, where the outburst flood channels originate.

Mars Pathfinder images the Martian surface. The colors are very close to true color. The stacked boulders to the left of center comprise the famous Rock Garden. To some geologists, this looks like a flood plain. To Nick Hoffman, it looks like debris left behind by a density flow consisting of gas, liquid carbon dioxide, rocks, and dust.

This high-resolution Mars Global Surveyor image shows layered terrain that may be lake deposits. But the White Mars model provides other explanations.

Data from the altimeter on Mars Global Surveyor, called Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA), shows elevations on Mars to an accuracy of just a few meters. Notice how flat Mars's Northern Hemisphere is. Some take
that as evidence of an ancient ocean, Nick Hoffman thinks density flow deposits flattened the terrain.

This MOLA image of Mars's entire surface shows the striking crustal dichotomy between the flat Northern Hemisphere and the cratered,
mountainous Southern Hemisphere. Most of the valley networks and outburst flood channels lie near the equator.

An artist rendering of the 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter,
which will launch in April 2001 and reach Mars in October.

An artist rendering of a future NASA Mars lander.

An artist rendering of a future NASA Mars airplane.

An artist rendering of a future NASA Mars lander.


The power of pyroclastic flows demonstrated: This reinforced concrete post was abraded and blasted by a flow.	A pyroclastic flow descends a hillside at high speed - some have been timed at over 100 mph.	Another view of flows in action. The soft puffy clouds hide hot and powerful flows.	Mount Saint Helens: deposits left by a pyroclastic flow - note the neat division around a teardrop island - equivalents are common on Mars.	Helicopter for scale beside a distributory delta composed of multiple flow tongues.

This pile of rocks was dumped from a flow of hot air.	A flow descends downhill to the left while ash clouds rise above the main vent.	This tractor was parked on top of a 300m high ridge. The flow climbed this and still wrecked the machine. On Mars, the outburs "floods" also cross obstacles of this magnitude.	Aftermath of the major flank collapse event at Mount St. Helens - similar to a chaos zone on Mars (but much smaller in scale - collapse events on Mars would have dwarfed this).	A mature tree snapped like a pencil by the Mount St. Helens pyroclastic flow.

Felled trees lie like matchsticks at Mount St. Helens.	Spirit Lake, Mount St. Helens - before the blast.	Spirit Lake clogged by felled trees. Surrounding hills blasted bare.	Mount Unzen, Japan - note the swathe cut through farmland by a small pyroclastic flow.	Mount Pinatubo, Phillipines - A valley filled by steaming volcanic ash after a major pyroclastic flow.

Martinique, Carribean - A house blasted by a pyroclastic flow. Note the boulders deposited by the flow - these are the size of a large freezer or compact car and arrived on a cushion of hot air. These are reminiscent of the boulders at the Pathfinder landing site on Mars.	More views of devastation on Martinique,	Back to the top

	NASA/JPL		NASA/JPL	NASA/JPL
A high-resolution Mars Global Surveyor image of Nanedi Vallis, a valley that is typical of many Martian features that look like dry riverbeds on Earth. Many scientists think these features were carved by Martian rivers billions of years ago, but Nick Hoffman's White Mars model offers alternative possibilities.	A wide-field Viking image of Nanedi Vallis. The area inside the Mars Global Surveyor image at right is shown in the white box.	This wide-field Viking image shows one of the chaos collapse zones on Mars. These are the places where many scientists think catastrophic floods originated. But outbursts of liquid carbon dioxide could also create these features. The area in the white box is shown in the image below at high resolution from Mars Global Surveyor.	Another region where liquid material from deep down suddenly gushed to the surface, causing the ground to collapse. But was this liquid water or carbon dioxide? This is a Viking image from the 1970s.	As this Viking image shows, a few of Mars's narrow channels show a branching morphology, which is characteristic of river valley networks on Earth. Explaining these features might be the biggest challenge for Nick Hoffman's White Mars model.
		NASA/JPL		NASA/MOLA Team
This mosaic of wide-field Mars Global Surveyor images shows an entire hemisphere of Mars. Valles Marineris is at lower right. Note the clouds clustering around the summits of Mars's giant volcanoes, including Olympus Mons at center-left.	A high-resolution Mars Global Surveyor image shows in great detail one of these chaos collapse zones, where the outburst flood channels originate.	Mars Pathfinder images the Martian surface. The colors are very close to true color. The stacked boulders to the left of center comprise the famous Rock Garden. To some geologists, this looks like a flood plain. To Nick Hoffman, it looks like debris left behind by a density flow consisting of gas, liquid carbon dioxide, rocks, and dust.	This high-resolution Mars Global Surveyor image shows layered terrain that may be lake deposits. But the White Mars model provides other explanations.	Data from the altimeter on Mars Global Surveyor, called Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA), shows elevations on Mars to an accuracy of just a few meters. Notice how flat Mars's Northern Hemisphere is. Some take that as evidence of an ancient ocean, Nick Hoffman thinks density flow deposits flattened the terrain.
NASA/MOLA Team
This MOLA image of Mars's entire surface shows the striking crustal dichotomy between the flat Northern Hemisphere and the cratered, mountainous Southern Hemisphere. Most of the valley networks and outburst flood channels lie near the equator.
		Back to the top