THE PROPOSED WORK WILL INVESTIGATE THE AGE CHARACTERISTICS AND FORMATION MECHANISM OF YOUNG HIGH THERMAL INERTIA MANTLING UNITS INTERPRETED AS PYROCLASTIC DEPOSITS SURROUNDING SEVERAL OF THE CERBERUS FOSSAE FISSURES. THIS WORK WILL BE UNDERTAKEN IN THREE INTERRELATED TASKS:TASK 1. INVESTIGATION OF THE GEOLOGY SUPERPOSITION RELATIONSHIPS AND CRATER RETENTION AGE OF THE CERBERUS MANTLING UNIT (CMU) AND SURROUNDING SURFACES. TASK 2: REMOTE SENSING ANALYSIS. (A) TOPOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF THE THICKNESS OF THE CMU FROM MOLA. (B) QUANTIFICATION OF THE THERMOPHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF THE CMU AND DERIVED THICKNESSESTIMATES. (C) HYPERSPECTRAL ANALYSIS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ERUPTIVE PROCESSES. TASK 3: NUMERICAL MODELING OF THE ERUPTIVE PROCESS INCLUDING THE VENT DYNAMICS AND HYDROTHERMAL CIRCULATION IN THE SURROUNDING CRUST.THIS WORK WILL MAKE USE OF A VARIETY OF DATASETS INCLUDING HIRISE MOC MOLA THEMIS AND CRISM DATA. THE RESULTS WILL SHED LIGHT ON VERY RECENT VOLCANIC ACTIVITY ON MARS INCLUDING RECENT MAGMA-ICE INTERACTIONS. THIS LOCATION IS NOTEWORTHY AS BEING A LIKELY CANDIDATE FOR BOTH THE YOUNGEST VOLCANIC ACTIVITY ON MARS AND THE ONLY RECENT PYROCLASTIC ERUPTION IDENTIFIED. THE EXTREME YOUTH MAKES THIS A SITE OF POTENTIAL ASTROBIOLOGICAL INTEREST AS THE ASSOCIATED HYDROTHERMAL CIRCULATION MAY PROVIDE A SUSTAINED HABITABLE NICHE TO THE PRESENT DAY. FURTHERMORE AS POSSIBLY THE YOUNGEST VOLCANO-TECTONIC ACTIVITY ON MARS IT PROVIDES AN IMPORTANT CONSTRAINT ON THE PRESENT-DAY LEVEL OF INTERNAL GEODYNAMIC ACTIVITY [LI AND KIEFER 2007] AND SEISMIC ACTIVITY FOR THE INSIGHT GEOPHYSICAL LANDER [BANERDT ET AL. 2013].