Accumulation and Erosion of Mars' South Polar Layered Deposits

Seu, R.; Phillips, R. J.; Alberti, Giovanni; Biccari, D.; Bonaventura, Francesco; Bortone, Marco; Calabrese, D.; Campbell, B. A.; Cartacci, M.; Carter, Lynn M.; Catallo, C.; Croce, Anna Maria; Croci, R.; Cutigni, M.; Placido, Antonio Di; Dinardo, Salvatore; Federico, C.; Flamini, Enrico; Fois, F.; Frigeri, Alessandro; Fuga, O.; Giacomoni, Emanuele; Gim, Y.; Guelfi, M.; Holt, J. W.; Kofman, W.; Leuschen, C.; Marinangeli, L.; Marras, Paolo; Masdea, A.; Mattei, S.; Mecozzi, R.; Milkovich, S. M.; Morlupi, Antonio; Mouginot, J.; Orosei, R.; Papa, C.; Paterno, T.; Marmo, Paolo Persi del; Pettinelli, Elena; Pica, G.; Picardi, G.; Plaut, J. J.; Provenziani, Marco; Putzig, N. E.; Russo, Federica; Safaeinili, A.; Salzillo, Giuseppe; Santovito, M. R.; Smrekar, S. E.; Tattarletti, Barbara; Vicari, Danilo

doi:10.1126/science.1144120

Cited by 93 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Layers could be spaced below the resolution limit of the radar, they may be discontinuous over large regions, or, perhaps most likely, the permittivity contrast between the fine-grained material and the block-forming dark material may not be sufficient to produce a strong reflection. Whatever the reasons for the lack of internal interfaces, it is apparent that the MFF lacks the same type of fine-scale permittivity layering that SHARAD easily detects within the martian polar caps (e.g., Seu et al, 2007b;Phillips et al, 2008). The lack of internal reflectors suggests that the MFF is not an analog to the current martian polar deposits.…”

Section: Sharad Echoes and Local Geology Of The Medusae Fossae Formationmentioning

confidence: 90%

Shallow radar (SHARAD) sounding observations of the Medusae Fossae Formation, Mars

Carter

Campbell

Watters

et al. 2009

Icarus

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108

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Section: Sharad Echoes and Local Geology Of The Medusae Fossae Formationmentioning

confidence: 90%

Shallow radar (SHARAD) sounding observations of the Medusae Fossae Formation, Mars

Carter

Campbell

Watters

et al. 2009

Icarus

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108

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“…The density variations and inferred variation in dust content derived from this geophysical inversion of gravity, topography, and radar data provide important information on the composition of the deposits. This added information can be used in conjunction with the stratigraphy of the deposits from both surface and subsurface mapping [Fishbaugh and Head, 2000;Carr, 2006;Seu et al, 2007;Phillips et al, 2008;Byrne, 2009] in trying to reconstruct the recent climate and volatile history of Mars. denser material that is likely to be silicate dust.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Density variations within the south polar layered deposits of Mars

Li¹,

Andrews-Hanna²,

Sun³

et al. 2012

J. Geophys. Res.

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[1] The south polar layered deposits (SPLD) constitute the largest known reservoir of water on Mars. Previous studies solved for the best fit uniform density of the deposits using a forward approach. Here we invert for the lateral density variations in the layered deposit using gravity data from radio tracking of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, topography from MOLA on board Mars Global Surveyor, and radar sounding data from MARSIS on board Mars Express. We use the gravity anomalies outside the SPLD to construct a Wiener filter, which is applied to the gravitational signature of the SPLD to remove the short-wavelength anomalies over the SPLD that are spectrally consistent with an origin in the crust or mantle. We then use a constrained inversion for the vertically averaged density within the SPLD as a function of position. The results suggest significant density variations within the SPLD. An inverse relationship between the density and thickness of the SPLD suggests that thicker portions of the cap contain less dust. Alternatively, the Dorsa Argentea Formation may extend beneath the SPLD and result in the observed high gravity anomaly in the marginal area of the SPLD. We find these conclusions to be robust against the choice of inversion constraint and perturbations to the applied filter. A synthetic test is also performed to verify the recoverability of the density variation in our approach.

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“…A higher-frequency radar, such as SHARAD on board NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (Seu et al 2007), could be used to acquire full coverage of an MBC and produce its three-dimensional radar tomography. This is a well-known technique on Earth (see e.g., Knaell and Cardillo 1995), but the irregular shape of an MBC will require some developments.…”

Section: In Situ Detection Of Watermentioning

confidence: 99%

The Main Belt Comets and ice in the Solar System

Snodgrass

Agarwal

Combi

et al. 2017

Astron Astrophys Rev

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We review the evidence for buried ice in the asteroid belt; specifically the questions around the so-called Main Belt Comets (MBCs). We summarise the evidence for water throughout the Solar System, and describe the various methods for detecting it, including remote sensing from ultraviolet to radio wavelengths. We review progress in the first decade of study of MBCs, including observations, modelling of ice survival, and discussion on their origins. We then look at which methods will likely be most effective for further progress, including the key challenge of direct detection of (escaping) water in these bodies.

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Accumulation and Erosion of Mars' South Polar Layered Deposits

Abstract: Science (print ISSN 0036-8075; online ISSN 1095-9203) is published weekly, except the last week in December, by the

Cited by 93 publications

References 22 publications

Shallow radar (SHARAD) sounding observations of the Medusae Fossae Formation, Mars

Shallow radar (SHARAD) sounding observations of the Medusae Fossae Formation, Mars

Density variations within the south polar layered deposits of Mars

The Main Belt Comets and ice in the Solar System

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