Fluvial Megafans on Earth and Mars

• Main Authors: Wilkinson, Justin, Gunnell, Yanni
• Other Authors: Texas State University, Environnement, Ville, Société (EVS), École normale supérieure de Lyon (ENS de Lyon)-École des Mines de Saint-Étienne (Mines Saint-Étienne MSE), Institut Mines-Télécom Paris (IMT)-Institut Mines-Télécom Paris (IMT)-Université Lumière - Lyon 2 (UL2)-Université Jean Moulin - Lyon 3 (UJML), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon (INSA Lyon), Université de Lyon-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA)-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA)-Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne (UJM)-École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État (ENTPE)-École nationale supérieure d'architecture de Lyon (ENSAL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Book
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2023
• Subjects: Earth Sciences; Environmental Sciences; Geomorphology; Physical Geography; Sedimentology; Stratigraphy; [SHS]Humanities and Social Sciences; McCarthy; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-04064975

18 chapitres, 41 auteurs, 160 illustrations, suppléments web, double préface par J. E. Blaha, astronaute vétéran de la NASA, commandant de la Navette spatiale, et de T. S. McCarthy, professeur émérite, Université de Johannesburg. International audience Megafans are partial cones of river sediment that reach unexpectedly large dimensions, with the largest on Earth being 700 km long. Due to recent developments in space-based observations, global mapping efforts have shown that modern megafan features cover vast landscapes on most continents. This book provides a new inventory of nearly 300 megafans across five continents. Chapters focus on regional studies of megafans from all continents barring North America and Antarctica. The major morphological attributes of megafans and multi-megafan landscapes are discussed, and the principal controls on megafan development are examined. The book also compares megafans with alluvial fans, deltas, floodplains and the recently recognised 'major avulsive fluvial system' (MAFS). The final part of the book discusses the application of megafan research to economic geology, aquifers and planetary geology including layered deposits on Mars. This is an invaluable reference for researchers in geomorphology, sedimentology and physical geography.