Abstract: Of the features that characterize large shield volcanoes on Mars, flank terraces remain the most enigmatic. Several competing mechanisms have been proposed for these laterally expansive, topographically subtle landforms. Here we test the hypothesis that horizontal contraction of a volcano in response to the down-flexing of its underlying basement leads to flank terracing. We performed a series of analogue models consisting of a conical sand–plaster load emplaced on a basement comprising a layer of brittle sand–plaster atop a reservoir of vi...
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Topics: 
Astrobiology
Earth science