Possible Composition of Martian Polar Caps and Controls on Ice-Cap Behavior

Details Possible Composition of Martian Polar Caps and Controls on Ice-Cap Behavior Possible Composition of Martian Polar Caps and Controls on Ice-Cap Behavior

Jan 1998

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1998lpico.953...22k&link_type=abstract

The First International Conference on Mars Polar Science and Exploration, Proceedings of the Conference held at Camp Allen, TX.

Mathematics

Logic

Carbon Dioxide, Deformation, Ice, Mars (Planet), Mars Surface, Polar Caps, Lakes, Rheology, Mars Global Surveyor

Scientific paper

David Fisher asked "if martian polar caps flow." Are martian polar caps akin to Earth's polar glacial ice sheets, or are they immobile? Though certain dynamical differences are obvious, it is unknown whether similarities in ice tectonics may also exist. The question bears not only on modem martian polar processes, but perhaps on hypothesized glacial processes elsewhere on Mars in the geologic past. The rheological properties and tectonics of martian polar caps also pertain to the possibility that liquids may have existed beneath the polar caps in the past, or even now, and to prospects for life in possible lakes beneath the ice caps. The cold martian polar surface temperatures and the lower martian gravity suggest a reduced propensity of martian polar ice deposits to deform under their own weight. The greater accumulation timescales of the martian polar caps compared to Earth's also mean that more time has been available for accumulated deformation, possibly offsetting the effects of colder temperatures and lower gravity on Mars. Further complicating our understanding is that the martian polar caps may not be made purely of ordinary water ice - CO2 is another possible major constituent; the rheological and melting behavior may be very different from what we are accustomed to dealing with on Earth.

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