Constraining Crustal Thickness and Hesperian Heat Flow on Solis Planum, Mars Using Depth to Detachment Mapping on Blind Thrust Faults

Introduction Wrinkle ridges are prominent structures mapped throughout Mars where they accommodate shortening above thrust faults due to planet-scale loading of the Tharsis rise and other features. Solis Planum contains some of the most distinct and well studied arrays of wrinkle ridges on Mars and is a focus of our work. Many previous studies have conducted modeling of these wrinkle ridges in order to relate their geometry to underlying blind thrusts [1-8]. Many recent models suggest wrinkle ridges on Solis Planum form above gently curved blind thrusts that flatten in the mid crust. We undertook a more formal analysis of uncertainties in these models [1-8] and sought to determine whether wrinkle ridges form above a single thrust, or are deformed by slip on adjacent (e.g. stacked) faults. This is particularly important for quantitative estimates of the depth at which these thrusts flatten, which has implications for crustal heat flow on the Red Planet in the Hesperian.