Planet Four Talk

Boulders, small spider channels

  • p.titchin by p.titchin

    These isolated boulders all seem to be lying over small spider channels. Would these be what remains after the ice has gone, from the images we see of boulders on the ice associated with venting?

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  • Kitharode by Kitharode moderator

    Answer as yet unknown.

    Conical Mounds: http://talk.planetfour.org/#/boards/BPF0000003/discussions/DPF0000dww

    Angular Hill: http://talk.planetfour.org/#/boards/BPF0000002/discussions/DPF0000db8

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  • wassock by wassock moderator

    those have a really long pointy shadow!

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  • Kitharode by Kitharode moderator

    Yes they do! Strongly suggestive of all being shaped the same - by the same shaping process(?) In the image there are more spiders without a boulder than with one, whatever that means.

    Normally, for an image like this, I would describe the general landscape as "undulating", but I am reminded of an 'Historic Landscapes' study at uni that introduced me to the term "palimpsest". With that in mind, I get an impression of old, large-scale, worn out spider channels which are now being 'overlain' by the small, thin, more recent(?) spiders. Given astronomical timescales this is not an impossible scenario.

    (Palimpsest: 1) A manuscript or piece of writing material on which the original writing has been effaced to make room for later writing. 2) Something reused or altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form).

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  • p.titchin by p.titchin in response to Kitharode's comment.

    Thanks Kitharode, seems some mileage in that. Much food for thought as always.

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  • Kitharode by Kitharode moderator in response to p.titchin's comment.

    Cheers Pete. The 'transformation of landscapes by spidering' is an idea that interests me greatly. A related area of study is wassock's 'Evolution or Degradation' discussion which asks a similar question. http://talk.planetfour.org/#/boards/BPF0000009/discussions/DPF0000ccj

    The image is about 10mins long. Some great examples of 'chain' spiders, webs, nets and lace terrain. May stimulate some ideas for your own spider investigations.

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  • Kitharode by Kitharode moderator

    PS to above: This looks like thw same area. More pointy shadows: http://planetfour.org/subjects/standard/5143480dea305267e900640e.jpg

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  • p.titchin by p.titchin in response to Kitharode's comment.

    thanks for the images, could do with a few more hours in the day since I was hooked by 'Planetfour'.

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  • Kitharode by Kitharode moderator in response to p.titchin's comment.

    Hahaha, tell us about it !! 😛

    In addition to the Conical Mound and Angular Hill discussion links I gave earlier, I should have mentioned your own 'Boulders on tors' discussion here: http://talk.planetfour.org/#/boards/BPF0000003/discussions/DPF0000e94

    In that discussion I admit my lack of knowledge about boulders and suggest that very little is known/written about them. Maybe you can make some sense of them for us (?). I've a feeling that objects like the Conical/Angular hills are different from 'your average boulder', but I've no evidence to support this idea.

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  • p.titchin by p.titchin in response to Kitharode's comment.

    I'd love to follow up my interest spider system formation and especially those enigmatic boulders, I am fascinated by their apparent association with venting, whilst some exist without any obvious influence, Also, colour, shape, shadows, etc...etc. .. I think I need to see the same views before and after thawing.Something I doubt is possible on my small island with dodgy slow broadband. However, I continue to look at what images come my way, and marvel at the privileged age those of us with an interest in the solar system and it's formation live in. Happy days!!

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  • mschwamb by mschwamb scientist, translator in response to p.titchin's comment.

    You know that images taken around the same area are linked on the bottom of each HiISE page image (that t you can get to from the the links on Talk) so you should be able to look around s given region at different times and years

    ~Meg

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