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].