Separating the Role of Regolith Adsorption Versus Polar Cap Development and Retreat in the North Polar Region of Mars

Physics

Scientific paper

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Mars Atmosphere, Mars Surface, Planetary Temperature, Polar Caps, Polar Regions, Regolith, Surface Temperature, Water Vapor, Thermal Mapping, Carbon Dioxide, Condensation

Scientific paper

Viking Infrared Thermal Mapper surface temperature and Mars Atmospheric Water Detector (MAWD) atmospheric water vapor data show that although some water vapor sublimes into the atmosphere as the seasonal CO2 cap retreated beyond the warm polar sand sea by LS = 81.55, the bulk of the water vapor did not enter the atmosphere until the center of the north residual polar cap heated to beyond 200 K at approximately L S = 103). We suggest the discrepancy in the timing of increasing local atmospheric water vapor may indicate the source for the additional water frost appearing on the cap; on measurable timescales, it does not appear that the water vapor is moving directly into the atmosphere from the regolith or the cap surface. If this were the case, there would be a gradual increase of water vapor in the atmosphere as the CO2 cap sublimated. Rather, it appears that the water vapor is moving toward the cap center through its recondensation onto the cap surface along with the retreating CO2 frost. There is a brief time lag between the darkening of the cap and the appearance of a large amount of water vapor in the atmosphere over the residual polar cap; atmospheric water vapor amounts peak at L s = 111. The time lag indicates that a local temperature differential governs some water transport in the north polar region; some water is released into the atmosphere as the surface heats up.

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