Multi-agent gully processes: Evidence from the Monaro Volcanic Province, Australia and in Terra Cimmeria, Mars

Comparison of the similarities and differences between terrestrial and Martian hillside gullies promotes understanding of how surface processes operate on both planets. Here we tested the viability of subsurface flow of water as a process affecting gully evolution. We compared gullies within the Monaro Volcanic Province near Cooma, New South Wales, Australia, to gullies possessing strong structural control near Gasa Crater, Terra Cimmeria, Mars. Although cursory examination of the Monaro gullies initially suggested strong evidence for aquifer erosion, detailed field surveys showed the evidence to be ambiguous. Instead a complex regime of erosion dependent on multiple conditions and processes such as local geology, surface runoff, dry mass wasting, and animal activity emerged. We found the morphology of gullies near Gasa Crater to be consistent with erosion caused by liquid water, while also being heavily influenced by the local environment, including slope and geology. Additionally, erosion at the Martian site was not consistent with evidence of subsequent, smaller scale erosion and channel modification by dry mass wasting. Local conditions thus play an important role in gully evolution, further highlighting that processes forming Martian gullies may be more diverse than initially thought. •We compared surveyed gullies in Cooma, Australia with gullies near Gasa Crater, Mars;.•We found a combination of seepage, runoff and animal erosion acting on the Cooma gullies;•The morphology of our studied Martian gullies is consistent with liquid water erosion; and•Local geology and environmental conditions also heavily influenced morphology of both gully sites.