Stability Of Mid-latitude Snowpacks On Mars

Details Stability Of Mid-latitude Snowpacks On Mars Stability Of Mid-latitude Snowpacks On Mars

Sep 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006dps....38.6703w&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #38, #67.03; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 38, p.618

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

Christensen (2003) suggested that runoff from melting snowpacks on Martian slopes might be responsible for carving gullies. He also suggested that snowpacks currently exist on Mars, for example on the walls of Dao Valles (approximately -33.0 deg. lat.). Such snowpacks were presumably formed during the last obliquity cycle, about 74,500 years ago. We have investigated the rate at which a snowpack located at -33.0 latitude on a poleward-facing slope sublimes on Mars. Our model includes the energy and mass balance of a snowpack experiencing diurnal variations in insolation. Our results indicate that a dirty snowpack would very quickly sublime under current Martian climate conditions. For example a 10m thick snowpack of moderate density (550 Kg/m3) and albedo (0.21) would sublime in less than 3 years. A cleaner snowpack (albedo 0.36) would sublime in 6 years. These results suggest that the putative snowpack in question almost certainly could not have survived for 74,500 years. The possibility of preservation of the snowpack by burial by dust is raised. The burial would have to be at approximately 10cm deep. Such burial may have occurred following sublimation from a very thick snow pack deposited under extreme obliquity millions of years ago. However, in that case the ice did not melt despite many climate episodes similar to today's. Alternatively the dust would have to have been deposited within 6 years, which far exceeds estimated annual dust storm deposits. We also find that snowpack temperatures at this latitude do not reach the melting point for snowpacks thicker than 5cm, raising serious questions regarding the availability of runoff to create gullies.
*This research is partially funded by a NASA GSRP fellowship.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Stability Of Mid-latitude Snowpacks On Mars does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Stability Of Mid-latitude Snowpacks On Mars, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Stability Of Mid-latitude Snowpacks On Mars will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1078158