Variations in surface texture of the North Polar Residual Cap of Mars.

Milkovich, S. M.; Byrne, S.; Russell, P. S.

Variations in surface texture of the North Polar Residual Cap of Mars.

Milkovich, S. M.; Byrne, S.; Russell, P. S.

URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2014/43762

Date: 2011-09-12

Keywords: Mars; northern polar cap

Publisher: Pasadena, CA : Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2011.

Citation: 5th International Conference on Mars Polar Science and Exploration, Fairbanks, Alaska, September 12, 2011.

Abstract:

The northern polar residual cap (NPRC) of Mars is a water ice deposit with a rough surface made up of pits, knobs, and linear depressions on scales of tens of meters [1]. This roughness manifests as a series of bright mounds and dark hollows in visible images; these bright and dark patches have a characteristic wavelength and orientation (Fig 1). Spectral data indicate that the surface of the NPRC is composed of large-grained (and therefore old) water ice. Due to the presence of this old ice, it is thought that the NPRC is in a current state of net loss of material [2] a result potentially at odds with impact crater statistics, which suggest ongoing deposition over the past 10-20Kyr [3].

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