Odd feature in Cerberus Palus area

Just to get this part of the blog a little more active, I want to show you some odd feature in the Cerberus Palus area of Mars.
When i first saw this rock(?) i had a little laugh as it reminded me of an earthen menhir which is about to turn over
Iam still scratching my head how this scene has been formed and by what geo-process when i look at this pictures!?

its a crop 200% zoom from the IAS data located here:
link

enjoy

p.s. if its just crap (or normal, boring rock in this matter) just delete this post

MPJ; Thanks for the contribution.
My guess is that it is a butte consisting of more resistant rock that has not ben removed by erosion.

MPJ; Thanks for the contribution.
My guess is that it is a butte composed of more resistant rock that has not been eroded away.

thanks Ben, i still have much to learn about geology in regards to Mars

Would not a eroded butte have a talus? I do not see that.

John; I think the loose rock fragments around the base of the feature may be "talus".

MPJ....I'm still scratching my head also. Wonder if there are any more images of the area.

John, there are some more rather unusual terrain features near the initial observation actualy.

Here is a little compilation from the same image strip:

The middle inset reminds me a little of some feature on the opposite rim of Victoria crater, observed by MER-B Opportunity from "Cap Verde" Sol 991:

...wierd stuff actualy if you ask me

MPJ, thank you for the image in #7. It makes it less mysterious. I tend to agree with Ben, after looking at the image.

While browsing some more Cerberus Palus HiRISE observations i came across yet some more interesting features. I think these are some kind of vents in different ersosional status and age.

Overview 25% zoom (rotated - north up RGB):

http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv202
/marsphotojournal/ESP_012524_1855_RGBNMJP2_schlote_02.jpg

Single, fresh appearing mounded vent 100% zoom (map projected - north up RED):

Notice the dark streak to the northern base of the close-up mounded vent like feature (2nd image). Looks like quite a busy area - mud vulcanos possibly?

MPJ I agree they are vents in varying stages of erosion but probably occurred at about the same time.
IMO they are volcanic in origin (basalt flows in surrounding area) and they appear to be tephra? cones that also emitted periodic thin basalt flows that now form the resistant shells seen on some of them.

I think it is interesting that most have annular collapse depressions indicating a shallow source for the ejected material.
I see no evidence of mud flow phenomena typical of earthly mud volcanoes.

Thanks Ben, I also think volcanic influence is obvious as these features are located on a lava plain. The plains appears not too old as well because there is no real impact cratering visible. Oddly there appears to be no signs of any ejecta flow from these vents actualy which may be explained by the suggestion of steam explosions by the HiRISE team. This suggestion has been brought up in the caption of the "Athabasca Valles Distributary Channels (PSP_010045_1880)" HiRISE observation. The author obviously refering to the same kind of features seen in that area which is a little to the east of Cerberus (eastern Elysium Planitia).

quote: "Small mounds and pitted cones dot the surface of the lava in the southern part of this HiRISE image. These are thought to be “rootless cones” that formed where steam explosions disrupted the lava flow."

Actualy there appears to be very small examples of vents down to

here are examples of this features from the Athabasca observation:

50% zoom (map projected - north up RED):

100% zoom anaglyph (map projected - north up):

As a side note there are cones without any "caldera formed (yet?) visible. Also they appear quite high in the anaglyph view.

This looks like a realy interesting landscape - i wonder what it would look like from the ground!

On second look, some do look like bubbles in a thin basaltic surface crust where gases did not break thru and form vents.

How high do you reckon they are?

From the look of the anaglyph the mounds or bubbles without "exploded top" or vent are as tall as they are wide - averaging around 8-10 m. Some of the irregular mounds seems to be even taller than wide. The caption of the Athabasca observation (re11) also states that there is only a thin lavaflow covering the area: "Despite having pronounced topography, nearly all the terrain in this image is covered by a thin carapace of solidified lava."

Maybe ice rich layers below the lava flow at that time caused buildup of (steam-) pressure from below and subsequently caused the "bubles" and vents? Maybe during the time of the lava flow and a while afterwards there have been violent hotsprings and geyser action around this place...

MPJ, I agree.
These formations appear consistant with what I would expect of ice deformation: Steam or water vapor vents discharge toward the surface and freeze at or near the surface. This vapor discharge might form a hotspring and trap dust or form a hotspring and lithify into more resistant material. Either scenarios are capable of producing what we see here.
A shrinking chunk of ice beseiged by sedimentary deposits of windblown material might appear similiar. I would guess it is more likely that these formations are from subsurface water or water vapor venting and windblown sediment. A heat source would be required for the hotsprings and a local hotspot would fit the bill nicely.