Other
Scientific paper
Nov 1999
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1999eostr..80..611t&link_type=abstract
EOS Transactions, Volume 80, p 611
Other
1
Mars, Polar, Cold Spots, Ice, Snow
Scientific paper
In the 1970s, spacecraft observations of the polar regions of Mars revealed polar brightness temperatures that were significantly below the expected kinetic temperatures for CO_2 sublimation. For the past few decades, we have speculated as to the nature of these Martian polar cold spots. Are the cold spots surface or atmospheric effects? Do the cold spots behave as blackbodies, or do they have emissivities less than unity? Two developments allow us to begin to answer these questions: the measurement of the optical constants of CO_2 by Gary Hansen and direct thermal spectroscopy by the Thermal Infrared Spectrometer (TES). TES thermal data has identified numerous cold spots at the Martian north pole. These areas of the polar cap have a strong absorption feature at 25 microns that is indicative of fine-grained CO_2. Brightness temperatures at 18 microns and 15 microns constrain most of these cold spots to the surface. Cold spot formation is strongly dependent on topography, forming preferentially near craters and on polar slopes. While most cold spots are surface effects, the formation of the fine-grained CO_2 is not restricted to formation on the surface. TES data, combined with MOLA cloud data, atmospheric condensates form a few of the observed cold spots. TES observations seem to indicate that another major component of the north polar cap's composition is slab CO2 ice. Slab ice has near unity spectral emissivity and appears to have a low albedo. Two explanations for the low albedo are that the slab ice is intrinsically dark or the slab ice is transparent and TES is seeing through to the underlying substrate. Regions of the cap where [T_18-T_25] < 5 degrees indicates deposits of slab ice. Slab ice is the dominant endmember of the polar cap at latitudes south of the polar night.
Christensen Paul
Kieffer Hugh H.
Mullins Kristina
Titus Timothy
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