Emily Jessica Bathgate

 

Supervisor: Graziella Caprarelli

Honours project title: Sub-Ice Volcanism on Mars

Describe your honours project
The northern hemisphere of Mars has been postulated to have once hosted an ancient ocean, possibly frozen, totally or in part. If this ocean existed we would expect to find lacustrine and marine environments north of the crustal dichotomy. The project on which I worked for my Honours entailed searching for sub-ice volcanic constructs along the Martian crustal dichotomy in an area bounded by co-ordinates 110-121°E; 0-13°N. Where found, these features allowed us to infer the presence of ice-sheets in the Northern Plains of Mars at the time of formation of the volcanic constructs.

Furthermore, we postulated that the platforms we observed in some of the volcanoes indicated the locations where the volcanoes emerged from the ice, and thus used the platform elevations as proxies to determine the level of the ice-sheets. We calculated a mean platform elevation of -1701 m, which is consistent with earlier estimates of the level of the Martian ocean, as determined from observations of other types of geological features.

What is the aim of your project?
The aim of my project was to determine the level of the ice sheets that have been postulated to exist in the Northern Hemisphere of Mars. The more data gathered on the extent and depth of the ancient ocean on Mars has great significance for future robotic explorations of Mars to detect ancient marine environments and possible evidence of life on Mars.

Why did you choose to pursue an honours degree as opposed to going into the work force? Why this area of research?
I always knew that I wanted to continue and complete an Honours degree as I knew it would open many new opportunities that would not have been available to me. I chose this area of research as I have always been fascinated with space exploration and contributing to humanities knowledge of the universe. Working on this project helped me to fulfil this dream.

What is your daily activity?
I am currently preparing to begin by PhD at the University of New South Wales focusing on Hydrothermal Systems on Earth and Mars. This will also allow me to continue my work studying environments on Mars that may hold the key to whether life existed on the red planet.

What attracted you to research at UTS Science?
I chose UTS because it had one the greatest success rates for graduates especially in the Sciences.

My future
When I have finished my PhD I hope to get a post doctoral position at NASA and continue my work in Astrobiology. I want to continue studying possibilities for life on other planets to help us understand more about where we have come from and where we are going.

What interests you most about Science or Mathematics?
Science is one of the only fields where you can truly say that you have contributed to humanities knowledge of the world. I have always wanted to contribute to Science and this has been one of the greatest driving factors in my career so far.

What is the best thing about your Honours year?
Honours was a great opportunity to work in a team with other like minded scientists with aspirations similar to my own. Not only was Honours Academically challenging but the support network you build with the other students is infinitely as valuable.

Completing my Honours degree also gave me the most amazing opportunity of my life after winning the VSSEC-NASA Australian Space Prize. I was given the opportunity to attend the NASA Ames Academy for Space Exploration where I worked as a Research Associate and made many invaluable friendships. The Academy also gave me the opportunity to meet many amazing NASA research Scientists and Engineers as well as visit NASA Kennedy Space Center, SpaceX and Dryden Flight Research Center to name a few.

What is the best thing about your School/or Supervisors?
The best thing about UTS is that if you have aspiration or dream for doing anything they will do anything they can to make it happen if you work hard and stay focused on your research.

What advice would you give a student thinking of Honours?
Honours is a great experience where you make many lasting friendships and learn just how rewarding it is to complete your own research project.