Strange Hole Mars South Pole Region

Hi All,

I have come across this picture courtesy of HiRise, my question is what the hell could have the caused this hole or depression, even the comments on the hirise site state they are not completly sure what may have caused it.... Any thoughts??

It is completely unique to anything i have seen on Mars and unlike any crater i have seen.

hirise-pds.lpl.arizona.edu...

hirise-pds.lpl.arizona.edu...

This 4 kilometer diameter feature near the edge of the south polar residual cap was recognized in Mariner 9 and Viking Orbiter images taken in the 1970s, but its origin could not be inferred. It was therefore targeted for HiRISE stereo imaging.

It also appears that the "swiss cheese" terrain of the residual cap has buried the floor of the circular depression, as well as the terrain surrounding the feature, making it difficult to infer the origin of this depression. Its circular symmetry is consistent with an impact origin, but there is no evidence of a crater rim or ejecta (perhaps because they have been buried). The depression may have formed by collapse, but there is little evidence of extensional fractures that would be expected around a collapse pit. Analysis of HiRISE stereo data may help the interpretation of this feature.

hirise.lpl.arizona.edu...


[edit on 25-6-2010 by Havick007]

[edit on 25-6-2010 by Havick007]

reply to post by Havick007


Looks like a crater hole to me.

But I could be wrong.

Cool pics.

There is an interesting analysis on this at marsanomalyresearch.com by Mr. Skipper :

marsanomalyresearch.com...

reply to post by 5MaveN5


Very interesting read, thanks for the link

reply to post by atlasastro


it seems that way at first but it is almost a perfect circle.

Thanks as well, yeah there are some awesome pics of Mars out there..

The first thing that came to mind when I saw this anomaly was the ice circles here on earth created in lakes and rivers some by underlying currents and some by rapid melt/freeze cycles. I'm no expert but it was just an observation. looks likie one of these to me. I don't know how to link images yet but if you type "natural ice circles into yahoo image search page 2 has some good examples.

Explanation: S&F!

Craters...
Crater (disambiguation) [wiki]

Crater simulation activity:
How do impact craters differ from volanic collapse craters? [neiu.edu]

Activity Two:
Objective: The students will simulate meteorite impacts on various types of terrain and observe the effects. [see.msfc.nasa.gov]

Dolines...

Doline/Sinkhole [wiki]

Dolines jpg. [www3.uakron.edu]

Origin and Evolution of Sinkholes in the Bellevue-Castalia Karst Plain, North-Central Ohio (Michael A. Dinsmore)[www3.uakron.edu]

6 types of doline jpg. [speleogenesis.info]

Tiankengs in the karst of China (Zhu Xuewen and Chen Weihai) [speleogenesis.info]

Sinkholes...

Sinkhole in Barren County Kentucky jpg. [emporia.edu]

Sinkhole Information [lakecountyfl.gov]

Personal Disclosure: Some members may be interested in this thread of mine...

Outback Oz: Debunking by Spelunking! (by OmegaLogos)[ATS]

P.S.

Edited bold fail.

[edit on 25-6-2010 by OmegaLogos]

Looks like the ice circles here on earth, I agree.

Great pics in these 2 threads:

www.abovetopsecret.com...



www.abovetopsecret.com...


If true, implications for life under surface there pretty intense...

especially in context with recent "cave" discovery:

www.abovetopsecret.com...




CDS


[edit on 25-6-2010 by Cole DeSteele]

reply to post by Cole DeSteele


Although this hole is 4 km wide and pretty deep, and also the ise is only on the surface, this hole is in soil and rock etc.