Computer Science
Scientific paper
Mar 1996
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1996lpi....27...19a&link_type=abstract
Lunar and Planetary Science, volume 27, page 19
Computer Science
Depth/Diameter Ratio, Ice Caps: Polar, Mercury, Radar Bright Spots
Scientific paper
Recent ground-based radar observations of Mercury have detected strong, highly depolarized echoes from the north and south polar regions which have been interpreted as possible polar ice deposits. These radar echoes have been correlated with a number of impact craters. Theoretical studies indicate that such surface ice can be stable within permanently shadowed areas, such as the floors of high latitude impact craters. One proposed hypothesis suggests that stable subsurface ice caps exist at the poles of Mercury, and that several of the impact events that created the high latitude craters exposed this subsurface ice. Thus, our study focused on the possibility of ice caps extending below the mercurian surface, down to some unknown latitude in the polar regions. We used the experiences from Mars, where the depth/diameter ratio (d/D) is smaller for ice rich areas, to investigate whether a comparable latitudinal change in d/D is detectable on Mercury. We found no significant latitudinal differences within the two polar regions of our study or between the north polar and equatorial quadrangles, but craters in the south polar region tend to have slightly lower d/D than those in the north polar region.
Allen Ruth A.
Barlow Nadine G.
Vilas Faith
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