Tag Archives: polygonal terrain

HiRISE: Polygon variety pack

Posted on May 6, 2019 by rburnham

Polygon variety pack. The objective of this observation is to determine the nature of polygons of different sizes here in Gordii Dorsum. Who doesn’t like variety with his polygons? HiRISE Picture of the Day archive. [More at links]

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

HiRISE: Quite smoooooth

Posted on April 22, 2019 by rburnham

Quite smoooooth. Here in Deuteronilus Mensae, there is a smooth geologic unit overlying plains material. There are also slightly convex-up edges, polygonal patterns on the surface, and softened craters. HiRISE Picture of the Day archive. [More at links]

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

HiRISE: The Case of the Martian Boulder Piles

Posted on March 8, 2018 by rburnham

This image was originally meant to track the movement of sand dunes near the North Pole of Mars, but what’s on the ground in between the dunes is just as interesting! The ground has parallel dark and light stripes from … Continue reading →

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Enigmatic clastic polygons on Mars

Posted on February 1, 2018 by rburnham

Planetary Geomorphology Image of the Month, February 1, 2018: Laura Brooker (Open University, Milton Keynes, UK). Polygonal ground of centimetre- to decametre-scale is one of the most common features found in cold-climate regions on Earth and on Mars. Polygonal shapes … Continue reading →

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off

HiRISE: Hexagons in icy terrain

Posted on January 23, 2018 by rburnham

Ground cemented by ice covers the high latitudes of Mars, much as it does in Earth’s cold climates. A common landform that occurs in icy terrain are polygons. Polygonal patterns form by winter cooling and contraction cracking of the frozen … Continue reading →

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

HiRISE: Within a crater in the Southern Highlands

Posted on July 27, 2017 by rburnham

Within a crater in the Southern Highlands. This is a very ancient crater, long filled-in. You can see polygonal patterns in the terrain, mainly due to the contraction of subsurface ice as the seasons change. Beautiful Mars series.

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

HiRISE: Rectangles with wiggly sides

Posted on January 30, 2017 by rburnham

Ground that has a lot of water ice mixed with dirt tends to crack in polygonal patterns bounded by short straight channels. In the South Polar region of Mars this type of terrain may be covered by a seasonal polar … Continue reading →

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

HiRISE: Polygonal network of exposed ridges

Posted on June 14, 2016 by rburnham

Polygonal network of erosionally exposed ridges. Beautiful Mars series.

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

HiRISE: Frost-enhanced landscape

Posted on January 4, 2016 by rburnham

The arc of hills in this image is the rim of an old and infilled impact crater. The sediments that were deposited within the crater have since formed polygonal cracks due to repeated cycles of freezing and thawing. The process … Continue reading →

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

HiRISE: Polygonal fracturing on crater ejecta

Posted on September 2, 2015 by rburnham

Polygonal fracturing on ejecta from a crater in the Arabia region. Beautiful Mars series.

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off