A hydrological analysis of terrestrial and Martian gullies: Implications for liquid water on Mars

• We applied hydrological analysis to selected Martian and terrestrial gullies.
• Small Martian gully discharges were comparable to equivalent sized terrestrial gullies.
• Larger Martian gully velocity and discharge estimates were much higher.
• Larger Martian gullies may have been formed by multiple smaller events.
• Martian gully channels have also probably been modified by post-fluvial processes.

Understanding the role and amounts of liquid water involved in Martian gully formation is critical in studies of the Martian hydrosphere and climate. We performed hydrological analyses using the Manning and Darcy–Weisbach equations in order to infer flow velocities and discharge rates from channels at two gully sites in Noachis Terra, Mars. The results of these analyses were compared with analogous hillside gullies in Australia. We found the velocities and discharge rates for the terrestrial gullies to be comparable to velocities and discharge rates of some small Martian gully channels. In contrast, velocity and discharge in some larger Martian gullies were almost an order of magnitude higher, equating with catastrophic flows on Earth. We postulate that the larger gully channels were more likely formed by a number of smaller flows in a similar manner observed in some terrestrial gullies, a scenario that does not require vast amounts of liquid water to be stable under Martian conditions. In addition, we found that post-fluvial channel widening may have acted on the Martian gullies, probably by dry mass wasting, leading to larger channels than were originally carved by liquid water. Future hydrological analyses of Martian gullies will lead to a greater understanding of the relative importance of dry mass wasting compared to liquid water erosion.