Recent acquisition of high‐resolution satellite imagery of the Martian surface has permitted landslides to be studied on a global scale on Mars for the first time. We apply the Scoops3D software package to compute slope stability for select regions of the Martian surface, combining calculations of slope stability with number of observed landslides (Crosta, Frattini, et al., 2018; Crosta, De Blasio, et al., 2018), as reported in a recently published inventory of Martian landslides, to understand controls on the global distribution of landslides on Mars. We find that the distribution of landslides does not simply follow the distribution of unstable slopes. In particular, there is an abundance of landslides around Tharsis, and especially in Valles Marineris and Noctis Labyrinthus, which is not explained by an abundance of unstable topography alone. We analyzed for but did not find a clear large‐scale lithologic or stratigraphic control on landslide occurrence from subsurface heterogeneities. Other possibilities to explain the increased occurrence of landslides in Tharsis include (1) thin weak unit(s) that is regionally widespread and at multiple stratigraphic levels, such as from interbedded ashes; (2) seismic activity related to the Tharsis's geological activity, and (3) possible groundwater near Valles Marineris into the Amazonian. Given the apparently young ages of many landslide deposits in Valles Marineris (Quantin et al., 2004), continued modern day analysis of lithologies in Valles Marineris and observations of Martian seismicity may act to strengthen or rebut the first two hypotheses.

中文翻译：

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控制火星滑坡的全球分布

最近获得的火星表面高分辨率卫星图像使滑坡首次在全球范围内得到了研究。我们使用Scoops3D软件包来计算火星表面选定区域的边坡稳定性，并将边坡稳定性的计算与观察到的滑坡数量相结合（Crosta，Frattini等，2018; Crosta，De Blasio等，2018） ，如最近发布的火星滑坡清单中所报道的那样，以了解对火星滑坡全球分布的控制措施。我们发现滑坡的分布不仅仅遵循不稳定斜坡的分布。特别是，在塔尔西斯（Tharsis）附近，尤其是在Valles Marineris和Noctis Labyrinthus周围，有大量的滑坡，而这并不能仅由大量的不稳定地形来解释。我们对地下异质性对滑坡发生的原因进行了分析，但没有找到明确的大规模岩性或地层控制方法。解释Tharsis滑坡发生率增加的其他可能性包括：（1）薄弱单元，在区域内广泛分布并在多个地层水平，例如由灰烬交错而成；（2）与Tharsis的地质活动有关的地震活动，以及（3）Valles Marineris附近可能进入亚马逊河的地下水。考虑到Valles Marineris的许多滑坡沉积物似乎很年轻（Quantin等，2004），继续对Valles Marineris的岩性进行现代分析并观察火星地震活动可能会加强或反驳前两个假设。