Possible (closed system) pingo and ice-wedge/thermokarst complexes at the mid latitudes of Utopia Planitia, Mars

Soare, R. J.; Conway, Susan J.; Williams, J. P.; Gallagher, Colman; Keown, L. E. Mc

doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2019.03.010

Cited by 18 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 94 publications

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“…), and indirectly on the characteristics of the deposit in which the ice occurs and on the relief morphology. 7 Thermokarst depressions are widespread features in the Arctic and have been inferred even on the planet Mars at the Utopia Planitia (e.g., 9 ) but, to our knowledge, they have never been reported in mid-latitude alpine regions outside of rock glaciers. Indeed, the only thermokarst landforms reported in alpine environments are localized within rock glaciers and debris-covered glaciers in tropical high mountains (e.g., 10,11 ) or relate to alpine thermokarst lakes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Recent thermokarst evolution in the Italian Central Alps

Guglielmin

Ponti

Forte

et al. 2021

Permafrost & Periglacial

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Thermokarst depressions are widespread phenomena due to permafrost degradation in the Arctic, whereas only few are known from mountain permafrost of the mid-latitudes. In the Italian Central Alps, close to the Stelvio Pass (2,763 m above sea level), a ski run was built in 1987. Since 1981, statistically significant air warming has been recorded, especially during summer (+0.65 C per decade). Permafrost temperature recorded at the nearby Share Stelvio Borehole between 1990 and 2011 exhibited a rapid increase (> 0.8 C per decade) and an active-layer thickening (7 cm/year).Between the years 1999 and 2003, some thermokarst depressions started to develop, initially in the lower part of the ski run and then extending to higher elevations. The depressions increased in number, size, and depth with time. Since ski-run construction, the area remained free of vegetation until early 2000, when vegetation colonization started, showing a coupling with the onset of thermokarst development and summer warming. Vegetation changes accelerated with the ingress of pioneer and early-successional as well as of late-successional species. Moreover, the ingress of shrub species (Salix spp.) typical of lower elevation belts (subalpine and even montane) was dated to 2004. All the observed features show a rapid and coupled response of the abiotic and biotic components of this ecosystem to climate warming.Our data also confirm the similarity of the observed responses and dynamics of the alpine tundra with the Arctic tundra with regard to both permafrost and vegetation.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Recent thermokarst evolution in the Italian Central Alps

Guglielmin

Ponti

Forte

et al. 2021

Permafrost & Periglacial

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“…By means of contrast, most crater-based age estimates of possible periglacial landscapes inclusive of NSPs and thermokarst-like depressions at/near the Mars dichotomy or at the mid-to high-northern latitudes, show relatively short and youthful age ranges: ˂~0.1 Ma (Mustard et al, 2001;also, Milliken et al, 2003); ~0.1 Ma to ~1 Ma (Levy et al, 2009b;Mangold, 2005); ~0.4 -~2.1 Ma (Head et al, 2003); ≤~3.0 Ma (Kostama et al, 2006). Recently, Soare et al (2020) reported a minimum age-estimate of ~100 Ma for possible periglacial terrain at the mid-latitudes of Utopia Planitia and immediately to the north of the Moreux impact-crater. Exceptionally, smallsized outcrops of possible thermal-contraction polygons thought to have formed in the Hesperian Epoch have been observed at the Gale Crater (Le Deit et al, 2013;Oehler et al, 2016).…”

Section: Age Estimates Of Morphologically Similar Terrain Elsewherementioning

confidence: 99%

A billion or more years of possible periglacial/glacial cycling in Protonilus Mensae, Mars

Soare

Williams

Hepburn

et al. 2022

Icarus

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“…The limit of HiRISE resolution (Table 1) necessitates that all clasts used to define sorted patterned ground consists of boulder-sized or larger sediments. Soare et al (2019) also used locality with potential pingos in such feature identification.…”

Section: Patterned Groundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modern Mars' geomorphological activity, driven by wind, frost, and gravity

et al. 2021

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Extensive evidence of landform-scale martian geomorphic changes has been acquired in the last decade, and the number and range of examples of surface activity have increased as more high-resolution imagery has been acquired. Within the present-day Mars climate, wind and frost/ice are the dominant drivers, resulting in large avalanches of material down icy, rocky, or sandy slopes; sediment transport leading to many scales of aeolian bedforms and erosion; pits of various forms and patterned ground; and substrate material carved out from under subliming ice slabs. Due to the ability to collect correlated observations of surface activity and new landforms with relevant environmental conditions with spacecraft on or around Mars, studies of martian geomorphologic activity are uniquely positioned to directly test surface-atmosphere interaction and landform formation/evolution models outside of Earth. In this paper, we outline currently observed and interpreted surface activity occurring within the modern Mars environment, and tie this activity to wind, seasonal surface CO2 frost/ice, sublimation of subsurface water ice, and/or gravity drivers. Open questions regarding these processes are outlined, and then measurements needed for answering these questions are identified. In the final sections, we discuss how many of these martian processes and landforms may provide useful analogs for conditions and processes active on other planetary surfaces, with an emphasis on those that stretch the bounds of terrestrial-based models or that lack terrestrial analogs. In these ways, modern Mars presents a natural and powerful comparative planetology base case for studies of Solar System surface processes, beyond or instead of Earth.

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Possible (closed system) pingo and ice-wedge/thermokarst complexes at the mid latitudes of Utopia Planitia, Mars

Abstract: HAL is a multidisciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers.

Cited by 18 publications

References 94 publications

Recent thermokarst evolution in the Italian Central Alps

Recent thermokarst evolution in the Italian Central Alps

A billion or more years of possible periglacial/glacial cycling in Protonilus Mensae, Mars

Modern Mars' geomorphological activity, driven by wind, frost, and gravity

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