Special Sessions
This year’s conference will feature the following special sessions:
Special Session on Large Igneous Provinces in the Solar System: Large igneous provinces (LIPs) are found on all the terrestrial planets; arguably cryovolcanic LIPs exist in the outer solar system. LIPs can reveal important information about a planetary body’s thermal and chemical evolution, and comparisons between LIPs on distinct bodies provides a way to deepen our understanding of the processes involved. This session will bring together researchers who have studied diverse regions of the solar system.
Special Session on the IODP-ICDP Expedition 364 to the Chicxulub Impact Crater: The joint drilling expedition of the Chicxulub impact crater, organized by the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) and International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP), provides the first sampling of a peak ring in a large impact basin. Expedition topics to be covered in a special session include formation of peak rings, petrologic and deposition styles of impactites within a basin, correlations of subsurface geophysical and lithological properties, dramatic consequences of an impact into a target covered with water, impact-generated hydrothermal activity, and recovery of life in an impact-sterilized zone. Additional implications for structures on other planetary bodies (e.g., Moon and Mars) will also be addressed.
Special Session on Mars Volatile Surface-Atmospheric Interactions: Past and Present: This session will focus on the recent advancements in Mars polar science. The exchange of volatiles between the atmosphere and the surface is one of the modern climate drivers, and one of the most active processes on modern Mars. If one defines the polar regions as places with active exchange, then the term “polar processes” includes the mid-latitudes and the Tharsis bulge.
