Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Dec 2003
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2003agufm.p31b1057p&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2003, abstract #P31B-1057
Mathematics
Logic
0933 Remote Sensing, 1824 Geomorphology (1625), 5464 Remote Sensing, 5470 Surface Materials And Properties, 9305 Africa
Scientific paper
The recent geological and hydrological history of the eastern Sahara is still mainly hidden under large regions of wind-blown sand. The subsurface geology is generally invisible to optical remote sensing techniques (LANDSAT, SPOT), but radar images obtained from the Shuttle Imaging Radar missions were able to penetrate the superficial sand layer to reveal parts of the paleohydrological networks. However, the incomplete geographic coverage of the SIR missions did not allow regional-scale mapping of the hidden hydrological and tectonic structures of the eastern Sahara, and scientific interpretations of available data remain partial and incomplete. Nevertheless, complete L-band radar coverage of the eastern Sahara exists and can be exploited: it was obtained by JERS-1, a Japanese satellite for Earth observation that was operated by NASDA from 1992 to 1998. We have produced the first radar mosaic of the eastern Sahara covering Egypt, Sudan, Libya and Chad, from existing archives of JERS-1 L-band radar images, at a final resolution of 50 meters. Such a data set will help in discovering unknown subsurface structures (river channels, former lakes, faults, impact craters, etc.) and will contribute to answering several key questions about the recent climatic, geological, and hydrological history of the eastern Sahara. As the eastern Sahara represents a good terrestrial analog to Mars, our work may also be applied to the exploration of Mars. Much of the surface of Mars has been intensely reworked by aeolian processes, and key evidence about the history of the Martian environment (paleo lakes and rivers) appears to be hidden beneath a widespread layer of wind-blown dust. Our results show that a Mars radar mapping mission, as the one proposed in the MEEM project, would allow imaging of the near subsurface geomorphology inaccessible to any other kind of sensor. It would provide unique data to address the origin of many enigmatic features related to the history of climate and water on Mars.
Farr Tom G.
Paillou Philippe
Rosenqvist Ake
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