Mars trees NOT!

Is terrific how the human eye can mishap completely what is seeing!
Look at this Mars HiRise image here:

http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/PSP_007962_2635

It seems at first glance as STANDING TREES in something like a valley, if seen IN PERSPECTIVE!
You can understand better if you think that this image is taken directly FROM ABOVE.
Magnifying those dark straks, somewhere you can also see kinda avalache of dust.

It is also Todays APOD:

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/

My first item I viewed when opening the color source JP2 was of a large nearly black pond. The dunes were very shallow, and the dark area was definitely a low spot.
I shifted position just once, and found this more detailed active ponded spot.
Whether these movements are gravity, wind, sublimation, or a transient liquid weakening the slopes isn't clear in a cursory view to my perceptions.
Here is the the spot at 1 to 1 size, with shallow and medium sloping transport of the dark streaking material which many still seem to think is not a liquid in transition, or a foreign substance transiting upward and across the particulate dunes.
I spent a few hours with this spot, and found a plethora of large shapes of solids which are in the flow path of the dark streaks. A series of large objects should divert a thin veneer of landslide material, but I see what appears to be a braided vortex like pattern in the darker material in some flows. The bright and dark, even colored objects are not impeding the flow of dark material.
I have no time to show this today, if I may return to display some odd items found in these streaks.
.
x=33400 , y=33700 , size 1 to 1, settings are from 'auto' adjusted to manual choices in each.
These photos give the impression of liquid seepage in many examples. I believe my settings prevent the contrasty shock effect displayed in the HiRISE small sized 'sub-image' closeups. Here the streaks do not 'jump' off the page to appear erect or 'free standing.
Clearly the bright material is separating from the mid to dark tones of colored materials, and the active areas are ringing in bright material which appears to diffuse away from the dark material streaking and active zones. This happens even at the lows where the transport of materials appears to continue.
.

.
This certainly does not appear to be a landslide in bulk movement to me in initial study. The slopes appear preserved in bulk mass with a minor movement of mass to the lower dunes in the low ponded area.
You can consider the streaks to this Earth example of ice melting on a volcano, combing the sun, cold, and a heat source and chemistry. This Earth example is close to many other dark streaking in the north polar region of Mars. Here the resemblance is general, as snow melts vertically as much as liquid seeping across a slope face.
.
Redoubt volcano, in Alaska. Seen through the GeoEye satellite, at 475 miles distance. HiRISE is about 160-210 miles usually.
.
A marked section with the closest Earth streaking example I have seen.
.

.
Image credit: GeoEye satellite images,2009

.

.

.

.

.
There seems to be a small movement within the darker zone, when using the IR view only at 4X.
I'll describe the images later.

Hi Dana,

can't realy follow you about the "pond" and the image sequence you posted. Can you highlight ON THE IMAGE what you're referring?

thanks
ciao!
Mario

Dana, from the look of the streaks and ponding areas its kinda hard to agree with the identification as dust avalanches or small landslides - yet it is supported by visuals identified as kicked up dust clouds (re3).
Also interesting is the deep dark color - pure dark basaltic sand? The "ponding" of that material in lower elevated areas near the dunes base rather looks like what liquids would behave in such an environment.

Another view of that impressing HiRISE observation. Dark material "ponding" areas marked:

Yes, Mario59, I will respond to that request, in a better spot as an example very soon, and while we talk I can give all a taste of the mysteries of Mars in this example of the types of odd artifacts which are well beyond anything we can routinely explain away about the Mars geology.
This was taken in unusual color and high contrast, at 4x the HiRISE full size view, and I'll find a different approach for better viewing of this as well. I am finding in the slopes many off artifacts of Mars history, and we can all take turns with explanation attempts.
Interestingly, again, these larger objects match some of the early MER Mars rover small objects seen during the past five years. The robots have beat us to finding unexplained artifacts on foreign planets, and they have done so very well over a very long time.
Surely these objects are sufficient reason for additional survey rover robots for Mars and other solar system targets?
.
Color JP2 source, right side of the image.
.

.
Other file types at the image host index page by my name.
Possibly an eroded lava tube?
A venetian vase with stopper partly buried?
Large papyrus roll with wooden rod?
Other ideas?

Good choice of location for the sheer beauty of the scene as well, MPJ.
I enjoy the concept of traveling across Mars, but as we can see from the small amount of liquids causing the crevice/fissure processes, and literally 'melting' the dune structures down-slope with gravity assistance, we would be mired in the material as were Spirit, and Opportunity at times.
This is and has always been a clear proof of the presence of standing liquids on Mars. We can give a hand to the finest imaging instrument ever used at Mars in finding a provable inconsistency in the estimates of the well trained science persons who were certain liquids could not flow or pond. There is a limit to what we are seeing, in surface volume, and timing, and this may be an active opportunism association of some components additional to water type liquids migrating downward, however the appearance is convincing enough to discount the assumption of a solids flow only.
Landslides are not the only process of dark streaking on Mars. Liquid type migration of a chemistry is occurring in the polar regions as well as solids slumping.
We see the examples at lower resolution in many areas of Mars where ice accumulates, and perhaps it gives us cause to propose a more broadly distributed type of movement of chemistry in non-polar areas as well.
As these are very dark, is it permitted to expect water from the IR band imaging, or is there evidence of other chemistry in action, migrating through the particles, and across the surface?

A 1 to 1 view of the smaller dune dark streaks, with a clear staging of materials, fissure flows, and broadened capillary distribution along the slope near the center in this example.
.

.

An additional view of the same location, in a very altered collection of settings. The dark materials can be seen here best, and the highlight can be given some detail.
This substantiates the estimate of a liquid type chemistry, rather than the 'thin veneer of bright dust removed' former concept that has been the standard claim all across Mars.
Clearly the limited liquid type flow can occur in short distances. Halos of intermediate tonality and coloration are seen in some, as would be the case if the daily swing of temperature, sunlight, and available frost were influencing this seasonal process.
.

.
Other factors may be even more effective in controlling these actions.

Interesting images Dana;
I see scarps caused by subsidence, erosion, melting, or other possible processes
that contain exposures of dark material ? (maybe dust, liquid or who knows what)that has flowed by gravity,downslope .

Some of this dark material is also exposed on the surface where it may be ejected, or exposed in erosional windows caused by melting etc.

Other than that I think we are just guessing

'Erosional windows' was memorable, I'll add it to my vocabulary. These objects and elevated items in some number are the points of the dark spots, which have a classic pattern for dark fans in the north. This example is just up slope from the dark streaking in the # 7& 8 entries, and has a item exposed beside a rounded same colored and partly buried origin of a dark fan process. I saw this and thought it to be a vent process, as would be seen in the south polar region. I'll post this today with a few better views tomorrow.
This is 4x, and source PSP_007962_2635.
.

.
Animated GIF again, two images, altered for darker details.
Can these be aligned as seen between the two exposed examples, with a central knob on the upper left end, and do they really look like meteorite material? I see possible ejecta oriented growth, or concretions with oriented parts, but the alignments are not in statistical chaos as they should be, and they look alike.
The vent has classic Spider and dark active fan patterned parts.?

A few additional closeups at about 4x of these oriented tubules, cylinders, ovoid objects, growths, or whatever the better term might be to describe these tilted and aligned items which are just next to objects from which dark streaking fan displays are occurring.
While the central dark fan in the images is oriented similar to the ovoid or cylindrical object, And many of these seem have a smaller bulbous rounded upper end attachment on the elevated end, I will have to ask whether the smaller bulbous object erected in the air is somehow directly related to the orientation of the fans. I was inclined to accept the 'wind' explanation for the dark fans, which are in some images showing various orientations, but here the directionality is the question for me.
The crater with contents has a bright issuance to the lower right, in keeping with South Polar Mars Spider assemblies, where dark streaking often leads to a bright material, possibly ice issuing from the fan sources in alignment with the dark materials.
Various manual settings at about 4x size.
.

.

.

.

.
Other images and file types at the image host.

To return to Mario59s' question at reply #4, here is a select item which could be either an eruption pool, a 'hot springs', or a drainage entry to underground cave systems which are likely in such an area.
With erupting dark fans and apparent liquids draining underground, the crystalline structures are likely to be opened by the liquid passage.
Images here from PSP_007962_2635, and at about 1 to 1 size.
The first is a color image. The second is the IR/near IR bands from the color source original JP2. I placed an overlay on the image, showing the actual darker core area as a grayscale range, as it shows a dark 'hole' in a mounded peaked center shape which shows positive elevated growth inside the darker ponded basin. Altered margins and very well ordered material separation and sequences indicate this is not a singular material occurrence. It is one of the most obvious eruption venting spots, or drainage and salt growth formations, but it is likely to be a part of the common materials at the scene generally.
Slab ice type appearing material, along one margin side, and various former flooding margins in very thin shorelines, beyond the dark distinct ponded spot are viewed at a distance.
.

.

.
Eruption, or drainage, in the last two images? What type of source material, and can we agree this is very recent activity in liquid type flow of material from the core vent, or drainage into a pond with a drain within the central growth?

WOW!!!
A lot going on here. I cannot believe how fast they go to the rubber stamp description. Danna your image bottom of reply 11 is awesome to say the least.
Dust plume is a more accurate description of the avalanche feature with phase change of various ices and unknown agent the cause.
Fred

Dana, the very same area caught my attention yesterday as well while updating my blog with this north polar action observation

This is located somewhat besides the large dunefield with the streaking (lower in the RGB strip). What would this be? Liquid type chemistry - maybe...

Nice photo, dana!
But making some considerations, we can wonder why:
1) the "outflows" are DARK? Pitch DARK?
could it be assimilated to something like mud?
2) if we assume that's not liquid, or evaporative "mixture", FOR SURE, instead, IT'S NOT THE FIRST TIME that this happens in those lands.
SO why we don't see MIRIADS of those flows EVERYWHERE (due to the passed eons) ?

If this is true we can say that these outflows DISAPPEAR as time passes.
If they "disappear", it means that they MUST EVAPORATE or SUBLIMATE (at least the volatile part).
In this scenario, could it be that the "dust cloud" we all have seen photographed in the scene, could be that "evaporative" part instead of dust?
It would be interesting also to know the "lifetime" of those outflows.
We could roughly estimate the "burst rate" of these things.
Maybe subseguent images of these lands, could give a clue to this questions.

Concerning those 'dust' avalanches that were discussed at NASA and HiRISE, I was looking for an indication of the ice cap scarp being loose, but this 'Sargasso Sea' of well metered landscape has an apparent sink-hole, eddies in still form, and how could such a scene be built?
The domed pit seems green at center, not dark as the other pits.
.

.
IR view, which should render liquid water black.
.

.

A better overview of the source area at the ice cap lower unit.
.

.

Dana,

Ponding is evident. But what the hell is it, or was it.

Fred

Fred and Dana; Sorry I disapointed you with the "rubber stamp description" but over time I have come to believe Mars is just another ball of rock like earth that has had a similar history except for continental drift. Simple earthly comparisons are generally most reasonable.

Materials of the correct consistency will flow downhill when exposed in a cliff (scarp) and may pond or pile-up at the bottom depending on the circumstances.

Surely you have seen instances such as this where no unusual conditions are required.

Truncation of an iregular, conical mound of layered material will provide you with the annular ringed features you show.

I am not critical of attempts to reconcile with an exotic scenario after all this forum is open to everyone !!!

Ben

If "Simple earthly comparisons are generally most reasonable" then why appear to discount the possibility of water or some aqueous liquid being involved some time in the past or recently?

Winston

Winston; You can't seriously consider the possibility of liquid water flowing out of the scarps, down the bank and forming ponds!!