ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the models of fluvial activity on Mars, the development of the fluvial model for outflow channel formation on Mars and single-process models for the origin of outflow channels on Mars. It explains also the models of fluvial erosion and transport, the models of fluid release for Martian floods and the models of valley network development. Spacecraft pictures of Mars were generated in the 1960s, but these low-resolution images failed to show regions of volcanism, channeling, or valley development. Part of the reason for the attempts to develop nonfluvial models is a scientific reaction to past models that tied hypothesized water on Mars to highly speculative accounts of life on the planet. Channels and valleys on Mars are important for the information they convey on the evolution of the atmosphere and the climatic history of the planet. The valley networks are the fluvial features on Mars that seem to require climatic conditions different from those of today.
