Grid Mapping the Northern Plains of Mars: A New Overview of Recent Water‐ and Ice‐Related Landforms in Acidalia Planitia

Orgel, Csilla; Hauber, Ernst; Gasselt, S. van; Reiss, D.; Johnsson, Andreas; Ramsdale, Jason; Smith, I. B.; Swirad, Zuzanna; Séjourné, Antoine; Wilson, Jack T.; Balme, M. R.; Conway, Susan J.; Costard, F.; Eke, V. R.; Gallagher, Colman; Keresztúri, A.; Łosiak, A.; Massey, Richard; Platz, Thomas; Skinner, J. A.; Teodoro, L. F. A.

doi:10.1029/2018je005664

Cited by 31 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 163 publications

(339 reference statements)

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“…We tested the hypothesis that the different feature types mapped in this study have been sourced from sedimentary facies emplaced in different depositional environments. Such a correlation of sedimentary volcanic feature type with basin-related location (i.e., proximal to distal) has been suggested for neighboring southern Acidalia Planitia (Orgel et al, 2018;Salvatore & Christensen, 2015). However, with the exception of Type 4 features, which are least constrained with respect to the water content of their source material and the related effusion rates, there is no clear correlation of feature type with latitude or distance to outflow channel termini (Figures 1 and 5a).…”

Section: Geologic Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 65%

Subsurface Sediment Mobilization in the Southern Chryse Planitia on Mars

et al. 2019

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The southern part of the smooth plain of Chryse Planitia on Mars hosts a large population of kilometer‐sized (from ~0.2 to ~20 km) landforms spread over a wide area. Based on the investigation of a small part of this area, Komatsu et al. (2016, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2015.12.032) proposed that the edifices may be the result of the subsurface sediment mobilization. We mapped the full extent of these landforms within Chryse Planitia and performed a morphological and spatial analysis in an attempt to further test this hypothesis. We identified a total number of 1,318 of these objects, which we grouped into five different morphological classes. The edifices can be observed over an area of 700,000 km2 near the termini of the large outflow channels, Ares, Simud, and Tiu Valles, with a nonrandom spatial distribution. The features are clustered and anticorrelated to the ancient highlands, which form erosional remnants shaped by the outflow events. This suggests a genetic link between the distribution of the edifices and the presence of the sedimentary deposits on which they are superposed. Such distribution is consistent with the previous notion that subsurface sediment mobilization may be the mechanism for their formation and is less consistent with the alternative igneous volcanic hypothesis. We also propose a scenario in which the large morphologic variability can be explained by variations of the water content within the ascending mud and by variations in the effusion rates. The edifices may represent one of the most prominent fields of sedimentary volcanism detected on Mars.

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Section: Geologic Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 65%

Subsurface Sediment Mobilization in the Southern Chryse Planitia on Mars

et al. 2019

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“…It was generally identified in THEMIS imagery-being less prominent to see in CTX data. It is smoother than the conical chains that comprise the thumbprint terrain in Acidalia and Utopia (Orgel et al, 2018;Séjourné et al, 2018) but, as shown by the grid mapping and higher-resolution observation (Figure 12b), is clearly overlain by mantle and textured signatures, suggesting that the thumbprint terrain is buried in Arcadia.…”

Section: Glfsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Grid Mapping the Northern Plains of Mars: Geomorphological, Radar, and Water‐Equivalent Hydrogen Results From Arcadia Plantia

et al. 2019

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A project of mapping ice‐related landforms was undertaken to understand the role of subsurface ice in the northern plains. This work is the first continuous regional mapping from CTX (ConTeXt Camera, 6 m/pixel; Malin et al., ) imagery in Arcadia Planitia along a strip 300 km across stretching from 30°N to 80°N centered on the 170°W line of longitude. The distribution and morphotypes of these landforms were used to understand the permafrost cryolithology. The mantled and textured signatures occur almost ubiquitously between 35°N and 78°N and have a positive spatial correlation with inferred ice stability based on thermal modeling, neutron spectroscopy, and radar data. The degradational features into the LDM (latitude‐dependent mantle) include pits, scallops, and 100‐m polygons and provide supporting evidence for subsurface ice and volatile loss between 35 and 70°N in Arcadia with the mantle between 70 and 78°N appearing much more intact. Pitted terrain appears to be much more pervasive in Arcadia than in Acidalia and Utopia suggesting that the Arcadia study area had more widespread near‐surface subsurface ice and thus was more susceptible to pitting or that the ice was less well buried by sediments. Correlations with ice stability models suggest that lack of pits north of 65–70°N could indicate a relatively young age (~1 Ma); however, this could also be explained through regional variations in degradation rates. The deposition of the LDM is consistent with an air fall hypothesis; however, there appears to be substantial evidence for fluvial processes in southern Arcadia with older, underlying processes being equally dominant with the LDM and degradation thereof in shaping the landscape.

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“…Given the widespread availability of salts in the Martian regolith (Ehlmann & Edwards, 2014), shallow ice detection around Deuteronilus/Protonilus Mensae might correspond to a false positive resulting from the past presence of ice that left indurated near-surface regolith. Periglacial morphologies are found at virtually all latitudes (see Séjourné et al, 2018, and references therein) and may therefore not be indicative of shallow water ice.…”

Section: 294mentioning

confidence: 99%

Widespread Shallow Water Ice on Mars at High Latitudesand Midlatitudes

Piqueux

Buz

Edwards

et al. 2019

Geophysical Research Letters

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We derive the depth of the water ice table on Mars by fitting seasonal surface temperature trends acquired by the Mars Climate Sounder and Thermal Emission Imaging System with a two-layer regolith model assuming frozen H 2 O as the lower material. Our results are consistent with widespread water ice at latitudes as low as 35°N/45°S buried sometimes a few centimeters below sand-like material, with high lateral ice depth variability, and correlated with periglacial features. While several investigations have already predicted, identified, and characterized some properties of near-surface ice on Mars, our results constitute a significant advance in the context of the upcoming crewed exploration because (1) they focus on very shallow depths accessible with limited equipment, (2) they provide continuous regional coverage including the midlatitudes, and (3) they yield moderate spatial resolution maps (3 ppd) relevant to landing site selection studies. Plain Language SummaryFrozen water is a very strong heat conductor compared to typical Martian regolith. As a result, near-surface ice measurably influences seasonal surface temperature trends, and the depth of the H 2 O table controls the amplitude of this effect. We leverage this influence on orbital temperature observations using a numerical heat transfer model to derive regional and local maps of the ice depth on Mars, at much higher spatial resolution than previously available. We show that water ice is present sometimes just a few centimeters below the surface, at locations where future landing is realistic, under mobile material that could easily be moved around. This ice could be exploited on-site for drinking water, breathable oxygen, etc., at a much lower cost than if brought from Earth. Key Points: • Shallow subsurface water ice on Mars influences seasonal surface temperatures in a measurable manner with MCS and THEMIS • We leverage this effect to map the depth to the water ice table at middle and high latitudes • Large continuous units of shallow ice are found~35°N and~45°S and could be exploited for future crewed missions Supporting Information: • Supporting Information S1

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Grid Mapping the Northern Plains of Mars: A New Overview of Recent Water‐ and Ice‐Related Landforms in Acidalia Planitia

Cited by 31 publications

References 163 publications

Subsurface Sediment Mobilization in the Southern Chryse Planitia on Mars

Subsurface Sediment Mobilization in the Southern Chryse Planitia on Mars

Grid Mapping the Northern Plains of Mars: Geomorphological, Radar, and Water‐Equivalent Hydrogen Results From Arcadia Plantia

Widespread Shallow Water Ice on Mars at High Latitudesand Midlatitudes

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