Opportunity Image, might hint at water runoff?

Opportunity has turned up this interesting image of a formation in its crater:



Full Image.

Now, I'm not much on geology, is anyone here who knows how similar formations occur on Earth? I am guessing that 2 options would be veins of softer rock inside a harder rock, the softer rock erodes first. Or maybe water runoff causing the erosion in that manner?

Or are they both wrong and something else entirely is behind this?

Howdy Kano...

That's sortof what what we're discussing here ( with a different pic from the same area )...

www.abovetopsecret.com...



[Edited on 22-2-2004 by Yoda]

Wow, that does look like water runoff! Does anyone know if the rover creates any heat? And if it does is it enough to melt ice?


EDIT: Don't copy entire posts please

[Edited on 22-2-2004 by Kano]

Hrm maybe not, in images of the region from Sol 27 it appears to be due to cracking or selective erosion of different parts of the rock itself.

marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov...

An interesting thread here too

www.freerepublic.com...

Yea well I give up...

The link I posted is from the same area...

Looks like the rabbit/crab creature, drove it's dunebuggy accross these mud flats to create these formations...

[Edited on 22-2-2004 by Yoda]

This is a photo from California, the photos look too similar to be caused by different events.

Those round balls sticking out look like trapped air pockets. If you have ever watch water saturate a dried fine powdered dirt, it creates tons of little muddy air bubbles on the surface. I guess because of how dry, fine and powdered the dirt is.

looks like wind erosion to me, notice the fine grain soil around it.