Adriana Olvera,

Sponsor or Client: 

Title:

Are there mineralogical/compositional trends that correlate with changes in geomorphology in unvegetated meandering stream basins?

Abstract:

Earth-surface processes and landforms can be used to interpret geomorphological features on Mars, because Mars has traditionally been recognized as a dry, red planet with geomorphic processes that may be similar to Earth. On Earth, meandering rivers commonly form in highly vegetated areas. However, both the Amargosa River in Death Valley, California, and the Quinn River in Nevada are meandering but unvegetated, matching the river systems on Mars.
This project uses Environment for Visualizing Images (ENVI), an imaging software, to extract important information from various forms of data in geospatial imagery, with focus on the Amargosa and Quinn Rivers. If vegetated meandering systems use roots to bind soil and prevent bank degradation, then what aspects of non-vegetated systems can be correlated between Mars and Earth. We seek to assess the contribution of mineral phases to soil cohesion to address this question. ENVI provides information about visible and near-visible wavelengths that correspond to geomorphic features. This may provide better understanding of arid streams on Earth.