Widespread gullying is found throughout this area and into nearby chaos regions.

Arguments that none of this is "new" -- say within the last 50k years -- have been offered. Because erosion rates and mechanisms are unknown and cannot be determined remotely, such arguments stand on the weight of assumption rather than evidence.

On the other hand, if there are annual deposits of snow beneath which flows form, then much of the gullying seen in the area could be very fresh.

The widespread existence of chaos regions in this area of the Southern Highlands could be instructive. Chaos areas found in association with the equatorial Valles and outflow channels are presumptively due to the breakup and collapse of surfaces into void areas drained of water.

Has that been the case at Gorgonum and the other Southern Highland chaos regions showing extensive gullying? Since there are no obvious drainage channels in this region, it's hard to say. There are many surface cracks, however. On the other hand, could subsurface water have been forced to the surface, say by subsurface heat release? And instead of draining, could it have flashed to steam or evaporated once at the surface leaving no evidence of drainage?

Could residual internal heat be responsible for melting ground ice which then forms the gullies we find today?

In other words, is there any absolute prohibition on present-day water-flow and gully formation at the surface?

Cheers, BFelix