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Tag Archives: ice
Debris aprons and valley fill hold ancient ice several hundred million years old
Along the edge of the crustal dichotomy, where the southern highlands step down onto the northern plains, lies a landscape of mesas, buttes, and valleys. Valleys appear choked with linear streams of debris, and on the flanks of many mesas … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged climate change, crustal dichotomy, Deuteronilus, glaciers, ice, lineated valley fill, lobate debris aprons
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Spiral troughs in Mars polar caps are born in ‘cyclic steps’
Both Martian polar caps have deep spiral troughs that slice into them for dozens or hundreds of kilometers, but their origin and development has been much debated by scientists. New work by a team of researchers led by Isaac Smith … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged atmosphere, cyclic steps, ice, katabatic jump, katabatic winds, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, north polar ice cap, polar caps, polar regions, polar troughs, Shallow Radar, SHARAD, south polar ice cap, sublimation, water, water vapor
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Are brines actually needed to make recurring slope lineae flow?
Recurring slope lineae (RSL) are finger-like dark lines on steep slopes that appear and grow longer during the warmest time of year, then fade and disappear over winter. They repeat the following Mars year in the same places. While scientists … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged atmosphere, climate, climate change, Context Camera, CTX, HiRISE, ice, lineae, LPSC 2013, Mars Odyssey, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, recurring slope lineae, RSL, TES, Thermal Emission Imaging System, Thermal Emission Spectrometer, water
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What Earth’s saltiest pond says about Mars
An Antarctic pond that’s the saltiest natural body of water on Earth stays wet in part by pulling moisture out of the air, scientists have discovered. And that has implications for possible brine seeps and reservoirs on Mars. Don Juan … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Antarctica, brine seeps, brines, calcium chloride, deliquescence, Don Juan Pond, ice, lineae, liquid water, ponds, recurring slope lineae, RSL, water
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Mars’ ancient climate had a “wet-pass” filter
Volcanic eruptions — and the rocks they produce — dominate the surface of the Red Planet. Mars also shows evidence for activity by liquid water — sediments, channels, and valley networks — through much of its history. While volcanos can … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Aeolis Mons, atmosphere, climate, climate change, Curiosity, Gale Crater, ice, Mars Science Laboratory, Mount Sharp, snowmelt, water
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Last Martian Ice Age still waning
The neutron and gamma-ray spectrometers on NASA’s Mars Odyssey discovered that water ice lies at shallow depths from the polar regions down to latitudes of about 55° north and south. Images of very recent craters by the HiRISE camera on … Continue reading
Did ice and dust make layered deposits in Valles Marineris?
Vast mounds of layered material lie in numerous places throughout the giant canyon system of Valles Marineris, and especially in Candor Chasma, Ophir Chasma, and Melas Chasma. The origin of these “interior layered deposits” (ILDs) have been debated since they … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged atmosphere, Candor Chasma, clay minerals, climate change, dust, ice, ILDs, interior layered deposits, Melas Chasma, Ophir Chasma, sulfates, Valles Marineris
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Sea cliffs in Libya Montes?
New work suggests that three possible shorelines from ancient lakes or seas in Isidis Planitia lie in Libya Montes. These mountains form the southern rim of Isidis, a Noachian-age impact basin 1,225 kilometers (760 miles) in diameter. They lie along … Continue reading
Big pile in Gale Crater
Gale Crater, the landing site for NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory rover (named Curiosity), contains a 5-kilometer (3-mile) high stack of sediments that was the reason for sending the the rover there. How did the giant mound form? Dirty snow and … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged climate change, Curiosity, dust, Gale Crater, ice, LPSC 2012, Mars Science Laboratory, MSL, rover
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Pitted deposits in Mars craters point to subsurface ice
Studies of pitted deposits in crater floors appear to indicate that subsurface ice has been more widespread on Mars than previously thought. That’s the conclusion of a team of reseachers led by Livio Tornabene (University of Western Ontario), who reported … Continue reading