In 1990, Jeffrey B. Plescia of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory was among the first to examine the origin of central Elysium Planitia in detail; at the time of his publication, he referred to this region informally as the Cerberus Plains, and was the first to critically examine the hypothesis that this region was largely formed through the eruption of low-viscosity flood lavas. This hypothesis - among other volcanic-aeolian and sedimentary hypotheses - ultimately received widespread acceptance in the Martian planetary geology community. Plescia observed the outflow channels of Elysium Planitia, noting the presence of streamlined islands, but highlighted the absence of regional-scale anastomosis in its channels, distinguishing them morphologically from those of the circum-Chryse region. He speculated that the streamlined islands were indicative of a relict bedrock floor that preceded the formation of the volcanic Cerberus Plains, and that the characteristic anastomosing channels of the Chryse channels had been buried under flood lava flows.