| Title | Identification of sublimation-type thermal contraction crack polygons at the proposed NASA Phoenix landing site; implications for substrate properties and climate-driven morphological evolution |
| Author | Levy, J.S.; Head, J.W.; Marchant, D.R.; Kowalewski, D.E. |
| Author Affil | Levy, J.S., Brown University, Department of Geological Sciences, Providence, RI. Other: Boston University |
| Source | Geophysical Research Letters, 35(4), Citation L04202. Publisher: American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, United States. ISSN: 0094-8276 |
| Publication Date | 2008 |
| Notes | In English. Based on Publisher- supplied data GeoRef Acc. No: 288052. CRREL Acc. No: 63000692 |
| Index Terms | cracks; glacial geology; ground ice; ice; Mars (planet); slopes; sublimation; topography; volume; Antarctica; landing sites; Mars; Phoenix landing site; planets; polygons; shallow depth; terrestrial comparison; terrestrial planets |
| Abstract | We identify a surface within the NASA Phoenix landing site Area D characterized by boulder-topped, polygonally-patterned mounds comparable in radius and cross-sectional morphology to terrestrial sublimation polygons found in Antarctica. Both Martian and Antarctic polygons display topographic asymmetry, with shallow equator-facing slopes and steep pole-facing slopes. On the basis of morphological similarities, we classify the Phoenix Box 1 polygons as sublimation polygons. The identification of sublimation polygons on Mars would provide direct evidence for shallow, ground ice exceeding pore-ice volumes and shed light on the emplacement mechanism of this ice. (mod. journ. abst.) |
| URL | http://hdl.handle.net/10.1029/2007GL032813 |
| Publication Type | journal article |
| Record ID | 85012 |