Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Dec 2002
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002agufm.p12a0361k&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2002, abstract #P12A-0361
Mathematics
Logic
5462 Polar Regions, 6225 Mars
Scientific paper
The latitudinal trend of the statistical characteristics of subkilometer-scale topography of martian surface (Kreslavsky and Head, J. Geophys. Res., 105, 26695-26711, 2000) has been interpreted as a manifestation of a high-latitude mantle of ice-cemented dust (Kreslavsky and Head, Geophys. Res. Lett., 10.1029/2002GL015392, 2002). This mantle is probably responsible for the high concentration of water ice (Tokar et al., Geophys. Res. Lett., in press, 2002; also Tokar et al, this conference) found recently in the shallow subsurface of high-latitude regions (Boynton et al., Science, 297, 81-85, 2002). We report on our new study of the statistical characteristics of subkilometer-scale topography of the mantled regions from MGS MOLA along-track altimetry data and a survey of morphology, stratigraphy and decameter-scale surface textures from the high-resolution MGS MOC images. Mantled high-latitude areas are characterized by: lower hectometer-scale roughness in comparison to geologically similar unmantled terrains; higher Hurst exponent, which means weaker increase of roughness with decrease of scale; and higher positive median curvature, which means strong prevalence of concave topographic profiles. These characteristics are consistent with preferential emplacement of the mantle in local hectometer- and kilometer-scale lows. Morphological observations with high-resolution images confirm that this is the case. Quantitative modeling of topography gives 1 - 2 m for a lower boundary for the mantle thickness; morphological observations indicate a thicker mantle in many locations. Morphological observations also point to a gradual decrease of the mantle thickness toward the low-latitude margins. In the northern plains the mantle has very typical meter- or decameter-scale patterns that shows local variations moderated by kilometer-scale topography and global variations moderated by latitude and absolute elevation. The mantle has a complex stratigraphy. The uppermost layer of the mantle is the most recent deposit in a large area of the northern plains. This layer is mostly contiguous at higher northern latitudes and disrupted only by very rare small impact and collapse features. In the circumpolar regions, dark dunes and bright ripples overlay this layer.
Head James W.
Kreslavsky Mikhail A.
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