Modeling the Hydrodynamics, Sediment Transport, and Valley Incision of Outlet‐Forming Floods From Martian Crater Lakes

Abstract Open‐basin lakes that have outlets, formed where the stored water breached basin‐confining topography (e.g., crater rims), been recognized on Mars for decades. However, mechanics involved in formation of these outlets has not studied detail. Here, we study this outlet process through a series numerical experiments accomplished by adding erosion and sediment transport routines to an existing hydrodynamic simulation, ANUGA. These are consistent with being carved single flood events, at least if was available throughout as transport‐limited regime. Peak discharges from open‐basin lakes, including Jezero crater, were 10 4 6 m 3 /s, outlet‐forming floods lasted days weeks, depending lake size. Moreover, find suspension likely important during floods—outlets could reached their observed sizes flow limited bedload alone. This turn may explain why small less commonly Mars, had inherent capacity thus incise confining catastrophically. Geometry, topographic setting, earlier fluvial valley development played significant role influencing magnitude resulting canyon incision.