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Tag Archives: south polar ice cap
HiRISE: Mars – or a Petri dish?
Mars — or a Petri dish? Beautiful Mars series.
Posted in Reports
Tagged Beautiful Mars, High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, HiRISE, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO, NASA, south polar ice cap, south polar layered deposits, Swiss-cheese terrain, University of Arizona
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HiRISE: South polar region cryptic terrain
Beautiful Mars series. South polar region cryptic terrain. This is called “cryptic terrain” because it stays cold in the spring, even as its albedo (light reflection) darkens and the Sun rises in the sky. More Beautiful Mars images.
Posted in Reports
Tagged Beautiful Mars, cryptic terrain, High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, HiRISE, ice caps, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO, NASA, south polar ice cap, south polar layered deposits, University of Arizona
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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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Making polar spiders in the lab
The formation of “spiders” during Martian south polar spring is one of the most spectacular natural phenomena on the Red Planet. Briefly, what happens is that every winter carbon dioxide ice forms a translucent layer above the sandy ground. Then … Continue reading
Southern polar eskers point to warmer past
Ice caps and glaciers on Mars today are “cold based,” meaning they are frozen solid to the ground beneath them. Scientists think the ice has been this way for most of the Amazonian period, the latest chapter in Mars’ geological … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Dorsa Argentea Formation, eskers, glaciers, heat flow, ice cap, south polar ice cap
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