Other
Scientific paper
Apr 1984
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1984pggp.rept..205l&link_type=abstract
In NASA. Washington Rept. of Planetary Geol. Programs p 205-208 (SEE N84-23431 13-91)
Other
1
Crustal Fractures, Mars (Planet), Mars Surface, Polygons, Drying, Ice, Mars Photographs, Sands, Temperature Effects, Viking Spacecraft
Scientific paper
Polygonal-fracture patterns on the martian surface were discovered on Viking Orbiter images. The polygons are 2-20 km in diameter, much larger than those of known patterned ground on Earth. New observations show, however, that polygons exist on Mars that have diameters similar to those of ice-wedge polygons on Earth (generally a few meters to more than 100 m). Various explanations for the origin of these crustal features are examined; seasonal desiccation and thermal-contraction cracking in ice-rich ground. It is difficult to ascertain whether the polygons are forming today or are relics from the past. The crispness of some crack suggests a recent origin. On the other hand the absence of upturned edges (indicating actively forming ice wedges), the locally disintegrating ground, and a few possible superposed rayed craters indicate that the polygons are not forming at the present.
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