Orbital forcing of the martian polar layered deposits

Laskar, Jacques; Levrard, Benjamin; Mustard, John F.

doi:10.1038/nature01066

Cited by 354 publications

(334 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Ward 1992, Touma and Wisdom 1993, Laskar et al 2002. The resultant obliquity history is shown in Fig.…”

Section: Surface Temperaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…3 θ and the eccentricity e as (Kieffer and Zent 1992), where I s = 590 W m −2 is the solar flux at the average Martian distance from the sun. Since for the last ten million years, the eccentricity has been limited by 0 < e < 0.12 (Laskar et al 2002), it is clear that the influence of the obliquity in Eq. (9) outweighs by far that of the eccentricity, so that we set e = 0 for simplicity.…”

Section: Surface Temperaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Owing to the large average obliquities between ten and five million years ago, it is likely that this was the real situation during this period (Laskar et al 2002;Forget, pers. comm.…”

Section: Simulation Set-upmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These have been computed by Laskar et al (2002) for the last ten million years with a celestial-mechanical model for the whole solar system (obliquity shown in Fig. 3, top panel).…”

Section: Climatic Forcing With the Coupler Maicmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…MAIC parameterizes the surface temperature, ice accumulation and ablation mainly as a function of the Milanković parameter obliquity (e.g., Laskar et al 2002). Dynamic/thermodynamic simulations are carried out for the NPC with the ice-sheet model SICOPOLIS (SImulation COde for POLythermal Ice Sheets).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Evolution of the north-polar cap of Mars: a modelling study

Greve

Mahajan

Segschneider

et al. 2004

Planetary and Space Science

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Celestial-mechanical computations show that, even stronger than for Earth, Mars is subject to Milanković cycles, that is, quasi-periodic variations of the orbital parameters obliquity, eccentricity and precession. Consequently, solar insolation varies on time-scales of 10 4 -10 5 years. It has long been supposed that this entails climatic cycles like the terrestrial glacialinterglacial cycles. This hypothesis is supported by the light-dark layered deposits of the north-and south-polar caps indicating a strongly varying dust content of the ice due to varying climate conditions in the past. This study aims at simulating the dynamic and thermodynamic evolution of the north-polar cap (NPC) of Mars with the ice-sheet model SICOPOLIS. The boundary conditions of surface accumulation, ablation and temperature are derived directly from the solar-insolation history by applying the newly developed Mars Atmosphere-Ice Coupler MAIC. We consider steady-state scenarios under present climate conditions as well as transient scenarios over climatic cycles. It is found that the NPC is most likely not in steady state with the present climate. The topography of the NPC is mainly controlled by the history of the surface mass balance. Ice flow, which is of the order of 1 mm a −1 , plays only a minor role. In order to build up the present cap during the last five million years of relatively low obliquities, a present accumulation rate of ≥ 0.25 mm water equiv. a −1 is required. Computed basal temperatures are far below pressure melting for all simulations and all times.

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“…Ward 1992, Touma and Wisdom 1993, Laskar et al 2002. The resultant obliquity history is shown in Fig.…”

Section: Surface Temperaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Surface Temperaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Owing to the large average obliquities between ten and five million years ago, it is likely that this was the real situation during this period (Laskar et al 2002;Forget, pers. comm.…”

Section: Simulation Set-upmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These have been computed by Laskar et al (2002) for the last ten million years with a celestial-mechanical model for the whole solar system (obliquity shown in Fig. 3, top panel).…”

Section: Climatic Forcing With the Coupler Maicmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evolution of the north-polar cap of Mars: a modelling study

Greve

Mahajan

Segschneider

et al. 2004

Planetary and Space Science

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Occurrence and origin of rhythmic sedimentary rocks on Mars

Lewis

Aharonson

2014

JGR Planets

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Sedimentary rocks preserved on the surface of Mars represent a natural archive of past climate conditions. Although the details of their formation often remain poorly constrained, the recent detection of rhythmic bedding patterns in the Arabia Terra region suggests the influence of orbital variations on sedimentary deposition. Here we detail a number of new sites which exhibit quasiperiodic stratigraphic variations, demonstrating their occurrence throughout the equatorial region of the planet. We characterize these recorded signals as well as the local geomorphic context and structural attributes. Two cyclic units are identified within Gale crater, the landing site of the Mars Science Laboratory mission, enabling estimation of possible formation timescales for the geologic units that may be studied in situ by the rover. We find a general lack of fluvial features in connection with rhythmic geologic units, contrasting these sites with the aperiodic deltaic stratigraphy found at Eberswalde crater. Possible formation scenarios and their climatic implications are discussed for the diverse set of quasiperiodic sedimentary units. We propose multiple depositional pathways for recording cyclic climate changes, including repeated evaporitic precipitation from groundwater discharge in topographic lows as well as largely anhydrous accumulation of atmospheric dust for deposits outside of confined basins. The preservation of orbital signals in sediments distributed across a wide range of geographic settings suggests a pervasive influence on Martian climate conditions through time.

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Recent Ice Ages on Mars: The role of radiatively active clouds and cloud microphysics

Madeleine

Head

Forget

et al. 2014

Geophysical Research Letters

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Key Points:• Simulations of recent ice ages are performed using an improved climate model • Cloud radiative effect and coupling to the dust cycle control snow deposition • The location of predicted ice deposits is consistent with geologic evidence Abstract Global climate models (GCMs) have been successfully employed to explain the origin of many glacial deposits on Mars. However, the latitude-dependent mantle (LDM), a dust-ice mantling deposit that is thought to represent a recent "Ice Age, " remains poorly explained by GCMs. We reexamine this question by considering the effect of radiatively active water-ice clouds (RACs) and cloud microphysics. We find that when obliquity is set to 35 • , as often occurred in the past 2 million years, warming of the atmosphere and polar caps by clouds modifies the water cycle and leads to the formation of a several centimeter-thick ice mantle poleward of 30 • in each hemisphere during winter. This mantle can be preserved over the summer if increased atmospheric dust content obscures the surface and provides dust nuclei to low-altitude clouds. We outline a scenario for its deposition and preservation that compares favorably with the characteristics of the LDM.

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Orbital forcing of the martian polar layered deposits

Cited by 354 publications

References 27 publications

Evolution of the north-polar cap of Mars: a modelling study

Evolution of the north-polar cap of Mars: a modelling study

Occurrence and origin of rhythmic sedimentary rocks on Mars

Recent Ice Ages on Mars: The role of radiatively active clouds and cloud microphysics

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