Martian outflow channels: How did their source aquifers form, and why did they drain so rapidly?

Catastrophic floods generated~ 3.2 Ga by rapid groundwater evacuation scoured the Solar System s most voluminous channels, the southern circum-Chryse outflow channels. Based on Viking Orbiter data analysis, it was hypothesized that these outflows emanated from a global Hesperian cryosphere-confined aquifer that was infused by south polar meltwater infiltration into the planet s upper crust. In this model, the outflow channels formed along zones of superlithostatic pressure generated by pronounced elevation ...