Ancient megafloods of Mars: interpretations from MOM MCC data and hydrodynamic simulations

Recent studies have brought attention to the enormous megafloods and the considerable amount of water found on and beneath the surface of Mars. These ancient megafloods have not only carved out Martian surface, but also altered its climate. In the present study, ancient flooding of four Martian water channels (Mangala, Kasei, Ravi and Ma’adim) has been examined. The MCC dataset of MOM and MOLA-HRSC DEM were utilized to identify and estimate the hydraulic parameters of the channels. The estimated parameters were used in empirical equations to determine the flood velocity and discharge of Mangala (9.7 x 10⁶ to 1 x 10⁸ m³/sec), Ravi (6.5 x 10⁷ to 9.6 x 10⁸ m³/sec) and Ma’adim Valles (1.0 x 10⁸ to 1.5 x 10⁹ m³/sec). Estimated discharge magnitudes were in line with previous studies, except for Kasei Valles (2.6 x 10⁸ to 5.3 x 109 m³/sec), where overestimation was observed. The two-dimensional simulations of full-bank floods were performed using the hydrodynamic model to generate scenarios of palaeomegafloods in the four valleys.