Thermophysical Property Measurements of Alaskan Loess as an Analog for the Martian Polar Layered Terrain

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Climate Change, Climatology, Mars (Planet), Mars Environment, Mars Surface, Crusts, Deposits, Ice, Thermophysical Properties, Alaska, Polar Regions, Erosion, Escarpments, Minerals, Soil Science, Terrain

Scientific paper

The polar layered terrain (PLT) may contain the best evidence for periodic climate changes on Mars. The PLT consists of a sequence of layered eolean deposits thought to be cemented by volatiles. The PLT also contains regions of erosion scarps with slopes of 20-25 degrees. The thickness of the layers, the amount of volatiles contained in them and scarp slope vary with wind regimes, soil properties, and global climate changes. Estimates of ice sublimation on Mars, under current conditions, indicate an ice loss of about 10 cm/yr in the layered deposits; precluding the existence of an ice rich PLT without the existence of an insulating crust to inhibit sublimation. The formation process of an insulation crust may include the desiccation of mineral rich ice from the PLT leaving behind lag deposits and bonded soil gains that form an ice-free low thermal inertia surface crust. Interest in learning more about the character of the PLT and climate change on Mars is motivated by the desire to understand the processes relating to seasonal and long-term cycling of volatiles and to determine the thermal, physical, and mechanical properties of the PLT. Accordingly, quantitative information on analog materials, like Alaskan loess, will be useful in interpreting in-situ measurements on Mars. Additional information can be found in the original extended abstract.

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