Physics
Scientific paper
Jan 1998
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1998lpico.953q..41w&link_type=abstract
The First International Conference on Mars Polar Science and Exploration, Proceedings of the Conference held at Camp Allen, TX.
Physics
Densification, Deposits, Gravitational Effects, Ice, Mars Surface, Polar Caps, Water, Carbon Dioxide, Snow, Glacial Drift
Scientific paper
Earth and Mars both have polar water ice caps with thicknesses on the order of a kilometer and spatial scales on the order of hundreds of kilometers. These ice caps on both planets must flow under the influence of gravity; maintenance of a steady state then requires accumulation of mass at high elevations and loss of mass at low elevations. The ice sheet thickness divided by the "typical" mass accumulation rate (meters of ice per year) gives a characteristic response time for ice sheets on both planets. Values of tens of kiloyears are typical on Earth; characteristic times measured in megayears are expected on Mars. Starting from processes known to operate on Earth, we will summarize characteristic scaling parameters that can affect rates of deposition, the form of the deposition, and its subsequent density evolution. We then investigate the comparable scaling parameters in the martian environment to formulate order-of-magnitude expectations about the mass accumulation and density-depth variation on martian polar caps. Finally we consider satellite and ground based experiments whose measurements could be relevant both to understanding the evolution of new deposits and to the inverse problem of inferring accumulation rate from geophysical observations of the ice caps.
Clow Gary D.
Waddington Edwin D.
Winebrenner Dale P.
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