The complete Image Guide text for all of the images
Description of the Area:
Western Uruk Sulcus
contains a confined band of light
material and grooves
having a moderately complex
stratigraphy,
bounded by Galileo Regio to the north and Marius
Regio to the south. The margin of Galileo Regio is partly
broken up into small deformed blocks, on which light
mantling deposits have been superimposed. The lines
along which breakup occurred, which have been occupied
by groove lanes having a regionally dominant NE-SW
trend, appear to be defined by furrows
in the dark terrain.
This observation will sample the bright grooved terrain
of Uruk Sulcus at high resolution.
Questions we hope to answer:
- What is the light terrain
and where did it come from?
- In Uruk Sulcus, the light material seems only to be a very thin
coating on older rough dark terrain. This could be evidence
of explosive eruptions predicted to accompany extrusion
of ice-volcanic melts.
Higher resolution images of this area will help to answer this.
- A better understanding of the complex stratigraphy of
the light terrain at high resolution,
will give us insight into the history of
resurfacing and deformational
processes. This will help us to understand the basic geologic
processes that formed the light terrain.
- What is the origin of grooves in Ganymede's bright terrain?
- How does groove morphology
change in different terrain types?
- Why do the groove lanes have a common orientation?
- On a global scale?
- On a regional scale?
- What is the detailed morphology of the deformed dark
blocks along the margin of Galileo Regio?
- What are the crater morphologies like in this region?
- How do they relate to those in other regions,
and what do they tell us about craters on Ganymede?
- What are the albedo patterns in
the light terrain and what can they tell us about the
geology and physical characteristics of those regions?
