Mariangel V. Albornoz Mendoza
MIT Department:
Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Faculty Mentor:
Gaia Stucky de Quay
Undergraduate Institution:
University of Florida
Biography
Growing up in Venezuela, Mariangel developed a love of the Universe. Her journey began as a young girl who found her uncle’s astronomy book, raising questions and curiosities about the mysteries of the cosmos. She is currently studying astrophysics at the University of Florida, with a particular interest in exoplanets and habitable worlds. Her research involves detecting planetary candidates through TESS light curves for follow-up observations with ground-based telescopes. Currently, she is working on calculating the volume of rock erosion of watersheds on Mars. Her goals are to become a research scientist, contribute to space missions, and work in academia, inspiring the next generation of scientists. Mariangel is determined to expand student access to education. She coaches underrepresented students in their college applications and advocates for federal student aid in Congress. Ultimately, Mariangel aims to utilize her experiences to help create a world where anyone curious enough can thrive in science.
Rivers Gone but Not Forgotten: Rock Erosion on Mars Surface Reveals Past
Precipitation Events
Mariangel Albornoz1,2, Gaia Stucky de Quay1
1Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2Department of Astronomy, University of Florida
The distinct fluvio-lacustrine features on Mars provide a snapshot of an earlier climate that was
wetter and warmer. To understand early Mars’s habitability, we require improved constraints
on the total amount and frequency of precipitation. By analyzing both open-basin lakes (OBLs)
and closed-basin lakes (CBLs) we estimate the ratio of infilling water to the basin volume. To
achieve this, we first determine the volume of rock eroded fluvially from the watershed, using
an elevation interpolation method from mapped drainage divides. This method provides an
upper range of rock erosion, which is supplemented by a progressive black top hat (PBTH)
transformation algorithm that offers a lower range of erosion. By obtaining a constraint on the
precipitation events on Mars (using the ratio of infilling water and basin volume), we can shed
light on the recurrence of hydrological cycles and compare our results to climate model outputs.
By understanding the conditions on early Mars, we gain a better understanding of whether life
could have developed in this now barren world.
