Permittivity estimation of layers beneath the northern polar layered deposits, Mars

Abstract

Martian Polar Layered Deposits, most likely dusty ice\ud are transparent to radar waves. In the North Pole bedrock\ud has been detected by MARSIS up to a depth about 2 Km,\ud whereas in the South Pole such interface has been located\ud at about 3.7 Km. The reflected signal is generally above\ud the noise and can be used to estimate the dielectric properties\ud of the bedrock. Assuming the permittivity of the first layer is\ud known, we use a simplified inversion method to extract the\ud bedrock relative dielectric permittivity as 4–9 below the\ud North PLD’s. These values are coherent with the basalt\ud nature and so the approach could be used to identify the\ud lithology beneath the Martian Poles

A strategy for an accurate estimation of the basal permittivity in the Martian North Polar Layered Deposits

“…Figure 7 depicts the spatial map of the estimated subsurface permittivity ε 2r , where the small circles represent the real footprint of MARSIS antenna over the surveyed region and the colour code (ranging between 3 and 10) the estimated value of the relative dielectric permittivity of the bedrock. These values are in very good agreement with previous findings (Lauro et al 2010) and are compatible with the permittivity of terrestrial basaltic rocks (Rust et al 1999). Moreover, large part of the dots is blue green, indicating that the bedrockretrieved permittivity values are predominantly lower than 6.…”

“…2); each layer is characterised by different electromagnetic parameters, and the structure is illuminated by a plane wave with normal incidence (e.g., Lauro et al 2010;Zhang et al 2008). 2); each layer is characterised by different electromagnetic parameters, and the structure is illuminated by a plane wave with normal incidence (e.g., Lauro et al 2010;Zhang et al 2008).…”

“…Indeed, the evaluation of such parameters from the backscattered signal requires to solve a nonlinear inverse problem, and different approaches have been proposed to retrieve such information from radar sounding data (e.g., Picardi et al 2007;Campbell et al 2008;Zhang et al 2008;Grima et al 2009;Carter et al 2009;Lauro et al 2010Lauro et al , 2012Alberti et al 2012). Indeed, the evaluation of such parameters from the backscattered signal requires to solve a nonlinear inverse problem, and different approaches have been proposed to retrieve such information from radar sounding data (e.g., Picardi et al 2007;Campbell et al 2008;Zhang et al 2008;Grima et al 2009;Carter et al 2009;Lauro et al 2010Lauro et al , 2012Alberti et al 2012).…”

Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS) after nine years of operation: A summary

“…These results support the interpretation that the SPLD are made of water ice/dust mixtures with dust content varying from 0 to more than 75%. Lauro et al (2010) developed a simpler methodology using the same modelling of propagation and the same measured quantities of previous works, but applying it to the NPLD in an area within Gemina Lingula. They reduced uncertainties in the estimation of attenuation within the NPLD, which affected conclusions by Picardi et al (2008), through the modelling of their dielectric permittivity based on information on their composition, derived from other datasets.…”

A comprehensive analysis of free‐space and guided‐wave techniques for extracting the permeability and permittivity of materials using reflection‐only measurements

“…Here r and m r are the relative permittivity and permeability, respectively. Material characterization is used in a wide variety of applications including measuring soil characteristics [Sternberg and Levitskaya, 2001], space exploration [Mattei et al, 2010], and electronic materials [Orlob et al, 2009].…”