Noachian

E416933

Martian geologic period geological era on Mars

The Noachian is the oldest major geological era on Mars, characterized by heavy cratering, widespread valley networks, and conditions that may have supported liquid water on the surface.

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All labels observed (2)

Label	Occurrences
Noachian canonical	2
Noachian-Hesperian	1

Statements (46)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Martian geologic period ⓘ geological era on Mars ⓘ
associatedWith	early formation of Martian highlands ⓘ early hydrothermal systems ⓘ early magnetic field remnants in crust ⓘ intense volcanic activity ⓘ possible warm and wet climate episodes ⓘ thick early Martian atmosphere ⓘ widespread fluvial activity ⓘ
characterizedBy	extensive crustal fracturing ⓘ heavy impact cratering ⓘ intense surface erosion ⓘ large impact basins ⓘ widespread valley networks ⓘ
climateImplication	transition from wetter to drier Mars ⓘ
contrastedWith	cold and dry Amazonian climate ⓘ drier conditions of Hesperian ⓘ
definedBy	International Commission on Stratigraphy ⓘ surface form: International Commission on Stratigraphy for Mars (informal planetary usage) relative crater density and stratigraphic relationships ⓘ
endTime	about 3.7 billion years ago ⓘ
evidenceFrom	crater counting on Martian surface ⓘ mineralogical detections of clays and phyllosilicates ⓘ valley network morphology ⓘ
follows	pre-Noachian ⓘ
hydrologicFeature	closed-basin lakes ⓘ dendritic valley networks ⓘ open-basin lakes ⓘ
mayHaveSupported	potential habitable conditions for life ⓘ stable liquid water on the Martian surface ⓘ
mineralAssociation	clay-bearing deposits ⓘ phyllosilicate-rich terrains ⓘ
namedAfter	Noachis Terra ⓘ
partOf	geologic timescale of Mars ⓘ
precedes	Hesperian ⓘ
relevance	key interval for potential origin of life on Mars ⓘ
researchField	astrobiology ⓘ planetary geology ⓘ
startTime	about 4.1 billion years ago ⓘ
surfaceRecord	ancient impact basins such as Argyre Planitia ⓘ ancient impact basins such as Hellas Planitia ⓘ ancient impact basins such as Isidis Planitia ⓘ densely cratered southern highlands of Mars ⓘ
timeSpan	Late Heavy Bombardment era ⓘ surface form: Late Heavy Bombardment era in inner Solar System
usedIn	crater-based Martian chronologies ⓘ models of early Martian climate evolution ⓘ selection of astrobiologically interesting landing sites ⓘ

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Jezero Crater → hasGeologicalAge → Noachian ⓘ

Tharsis volcanic plateau → majorVolcanicEpoch → Noachian ⓘ

Ares Vallis → geologicalAge → Noachian ⓘ

this entity surface form: Noachian-Hesperian