A conceptual model for explanation of Albedo changes in Martian craters     

H. Xie  H. Guan  M. Zhu  M. Thueson  S.F. Ackley  Z. Yue 《Planetary and Space Science》2008,56(7):887-894

We propose a conceptual model to interpret AM/PM high albedo events (HAEs) in crater interiors at the Martian seasonal polar caps. This model consists of two components: (1) a relatively permanent high-albedo water–ice body exposed in a crater interior and (2) a variable crater albedo in response to aerosol optical depth, dust contamination, and H₂O/CO₂ frost deposits or sublimes in four phases, based on temperature and solar longitude changes. Two craters (Korolev crater of fully exposed water–ice layer and ‘Louth’ crater of partially exposed water–ice layer) are used to demonstrate the model. This model explains the HAEs and their seasonal changes and suggests that many crater-like features formed in the last episodic advance of the polar ice cap in the last high obliquity period should have water–ice exposed or covered. For the AM-only HAEs craters, there seems no need of a water–ice layer to be fully exposed, but a subsurface water–ice layer (or ice-rich regolith) is a necessary condition.  相似文献   

Albedo models for the residual south polar cap on Mars: Implications for the stability of the cap under near-perihelion global dust storm conditions     

Boncho P. Bonev  Gary B. Hansen  Philip B. James 《Planetary and Space Science》2008,56(2):181-193

It is uncertain whether the residual (perennial) south polar cap on Mars is a transitory or a permanent feature in the current Martian climate. While there is no firm evidence for complete disappearance of the cap in the past, clearly observable changes have been documented. Observations suggest that the perennial cap lost more CO₂ material in the spring/summer season prior to the Mariner 9 mission than in those same seasons monitored by Viking and Mars Global Surveyor. In this paper we examine one process that may contribute to these changes—the radiative effects of a planet encircling dust storm that starts during late Martian southern spring on the stability of the perennial south polar cap. To approach this, we model the radiative transfer through a dusty planetary atmosphere bounded by a sublimating CO₂ surface.A critical parameter for this modeling is the surface albedo spectrum from the near-UV to the thermal-IR, which was determined from both space-craft and Earth-based observations covering multiple wavelength regimes. Such a multi-wavelength approach is highly desirable since one spectral band by itself cannot tightly constrain the three-parameter space for polar surface albedo models, namely photon “scattering length” in the CO₂ ice and the amounts of intermixed water and dust.Our results suggest that a planet-encircling dust storm with onset near solstice can affect the perennial cap's stability, leading to advanced sublimation in a “dusty” year. Since the total amount of solid CO₂ removed by a single storm may be less than the total CO₂ thickness, a series of dust storms would be required to remove the entire residual CO₂ ice layer from the south perennial cap.  相似文献   

Field-aligned currents and parallel electric field potential drops at Mars. Scaling from the Earth’ aurora     

E. Dubinin  G. Chanteur  J. Woch 《Planetary and Space Science》2008,56(6):868-872

The observations of electron inverted ‘V’ structures by the MGS and MEX spacecraft, their resemblance to similar events in the auroral regions of the Earth, and the discovery of strong localized magnetic field sources of the crustal origin on Mars, raised hypotheses on the existence of Martian aurora produced by electron acceleration in parallel electric fields. Following the theory of this type of structures on Earth we perform a scaling analysis to the Martian conditions. Similar to the Earth, upward field-aligned currents necessary for the generation of parallel potential drops and peaked electron distributions can arise, for example, on the boundary between ‘closed’ and ‘open’ crustal field lines due to shears of the flow velocity of the magnetosheath or magnetospheric plasmas. A steady-state configuration assumes a closure of these currents in the Martian ionosphere. Due to much smaller magnetic fields as compared to the Earth case, the ionospheric Pedersen conductivity is much higher on Mars and auroral field tubes with parallel potential drops and relatively small cross scales to be adjusted to the scales of the localized crustal patches may appear only if the magnetosphere and ionosphere are decoupled by a zone with a strong E_∥. Another scenario suggests a periodic short-circuit of the magnetospheric electric fields by a coupling with the conducting ionosphere.  相似文献   

Suprathermal electron fluxes on the nightside of Mars: ASPERA-3 observations     

E. Dubinin  M. Fraenz  J.D. Winnigham  R. Lundin 《Planetary and Space Science》2008,56(6):846-851

Recently aurora-type UV emissions were discovered on the nightside of Mars [Bertaux, J.-L., Leblanc, F., Witasse, O., et al., 2005. Discovery of an aurora on Mars. Nature 439, doi:10.1038/nature03603]. It was suggested that these emissions are produced by suprathermal electrons with energies of tens of eV, rather than by the electrons with spectra peaked above 100 eV [Leblanc, F., Witasse, O., Winningham J., et al., 2006. Origin of the martian aurora observed by spectroscopy for investigation of characteristics of the atmosphere of Mars (SPICAM) onboard Mars Express. J. Geophys. Res. 111, A09313, doi:10.1029/2006JA011763]. In this paper we present observations of fluxes of suprathermal electrons (E_e≈30-100 eV) on the Martian nightside by the ASPERA-3 experiment onboard the Mars Express spacecraft. Narrow spikes of suprathermal electrons are often observed in energy-time spectrograms of electron fluxes at altitudes between 250 and 600 km. These spikes are spatially organized and form narrow strips in regions with strong upward or downward crustal magnetic field. The values of electron fluxes in such events generally could explain the observed auroral UV emissions although a question of their origin (transport from the dayside or local precipitation) remains open.  相似文献   

火星风沙地貌研究进展   总被引：3，自引：2，他引：1  

李继彦  董治宝 《中国沙漠》2016,36(4):951-961

作为最活跃的地貌塑造外营力,风力作用在火星表面塑造了各种各样的地貌形态。对火星风沙活动及风沙地貌的认识是随着观测和探测技术的进步而逐渐明确的。火星沙丘在北极地区连绵成带状分布,在其他地区分布比较零散,且主要与撞击坑、河谷和山谷相伴分布。火星风沙地貌与地球上相应的地貌类型形态相似而规模更大,表明两个星球上塑造风沙地貌的动力系统具有一定的相似性。火星沙丘主要由玄武岩质（北极部分沙丘为石膏质）颗粒堆积而成,沉积物粒度比地球粗,主要是由中沙和粗纱组成。随着获取影像时空分辨率的提高和着陆器在火星近表面的观测,发现火星上部分区域的沙丘和沙波纹比较活跃。同地球一样,火星风沙地貌也可指示火星气候的变化。  相似文献   

Concentric crater fill in the northern mid-latitudes of Mars: Formation processes and relationships to similar landforms of glacial origin     

Joseph Levy  James W. Head 《Icarus》2010,209(2):390-404

Hypotheses accounting for the formation of concentric crater fill (CCF) on Mars range from ice-free processes (e.g., aeolian fill), to ice-assisted talus creep, to debris-covered glaciers. Based on analysis of new CTX and HiRISE data, we find that concentric crater fill (CCF) is a significant component of Amazonian-aged glacial landsystems on Mars. We present mapping results documenting the nature and extent of CCF along the martian dichotomy boundary over −30 to 90°E latitude and 20-80°N longitude. On the basis of morphological analysis we classify CCF landforms into “classic” CCF and “low-definition” CCF. Classic CCF is most typical in the middle latitudes of the analysis area (∼30-50°N), while a range of degradation processes results in the presence of low-definition CCF landforms at higher and lower latitudes. We evaluate formation mechanisms for CCF on the basis of morphological and topographic analyses, and interpret the landforms to be relict debris-covered glaciers, rather than ice-mobilized talus or aeolian units. We examine filled crater depth-diameter ratios and conclude that in many locations, hundreds of meters of ice may still be present under desiccated surficial debris. This conclusion is consistent with the abundance of “ring-mold craters” on CCF surfaces that suggest the presence of near-surface ice. Analysis of breached craters and distal glacial deposits suggests that in some locations, CCF-related ice was once several hundred meters higher than its current level, and has sublimated significantly during the most recent Amazonian. Crater counts on ejecta blankets of filled and unfilled craters suggests that CCF formed most recently between ∼60 and 300 Ma, consistent with the formation ages of other martian debris-covered glacial landforms such as lineated valley fill (LVF) and lobate debris aprons (LDA). Morphological analysis of CCF in the vicinity of LVF and LDA suggests that CCF is a part of an integrated LVF/LDA/CCF glacial landsystem. Instances of morphological continuity between CCF, LVF, and LDA are abundant. The presence of formerly more abundant CCF ice, coupled with the integration of CCF into LVF and LDA, suggests the possibility that CCF represents one component of the significant Amazonian mid-latitude glaciation(s) on Mars.  相似文献   

A progression of induration in Medusae Fossae Formation transverse aeolian ridges: evidence for ancient aeolian bedforms and extensive reworking     

Laura Kerber  James W. Head 《地球表面变化过程与地形》2012,37(4):422-433

A progression of induration, erosion, and redeposition of transverse and networked transverse aeolian ridges (TARs) has been documented in the Medusae Fossae Formation (MFF), Mars. Cratered and eroded aeolian bedforms are rarely observed on Mars, indicating that those found in the MFF have been inactive for much longer than those found elsewhere. Indurated TARs are observed to grade into faceted MFF terrain, indicating a genetic relationship between the two. We propose that TAR deposition, induration and erosion have played a larger role in the surface morphology and evolution of the MFF than previously recognized. The deposition, induration, and erosion of TARs indicate that the MFF has undergone multiple cycles of reworking, and that much of its current surface morphology does not reflect the circumstances of its primary emplacement. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Thermokarst lakes and ponds on Mars in the very recent (late Amazonian) past   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Richard J. Soare  Gordon R. Osinski  Charlotte L. Roehm 《Earth and Planetary Science Letters》2008,272(1-2):382-393

The history of water is fundamental to understanding the geological evolution of Mars and to questions concerning the possible development of life on the Red Planet. Today, Mars is cold and dry; its regolith is permanently frozen and except under highly localised and transient conditions, liquid water is unstable at the surface. Intriguingly, we have identified geological features that could be markers of very late-Amazonian “wet” or ice-rich periglacial processes in Utopia and western Elysium Planitiae: 1. rimless, flat-floored and lobate, sometimes scalloped, depressions that are suggestive of terrestrial alases (evaporated/drained thermokarst lakes); 2. small-sized polygonal patterned-ground (perhaps formed by thermal-contraction cracking and possibly underlain by ice wedges); and, 3. circular/near-circular raised-rim depressions (consistent in morphology and scale with pingo-scars) that are nested in rimless depressions. In terrestrial cold-climate, non-glacial environments, landscape assemblages of this type occur only in the presence of ice-rich permafrost.Commenting upon the origin of the putative periglacial features on Mars, most workers have suggested that sublimation and not evaporation has been the dominant process. By contrast, we propose that two key characteristics of the rimless depressions – inner terraces and orthogonally-oriented polygons – are markers of stable, ponded water and its slow loss by evaporation or drainage. If the raised-rim landforms are pingo scars, then this also points to boundary conditions that are supportive of stable liquid water.With regard to the relative age of the features described above, previous work identified some lobate depressions superposed on crater-rim gullies in the region (Soare et al., 2007). Gullies could be amongst the youngest geological features on Mars; superposed depressions point to an origin that is more youthful than the gullies. In turn, as some raised-rim landforms are superposed on rimless depressions, this is indicative of an origin that is even more recent than that of the depressions. Together with the geological evidence showing that the rimless depressions could have been formed by ponded water, the stratigraphy of the putative periglacial-landscape in this region suggests that the very late Amazonian period could have been warmer and wetter than had been thought hitherto.  相似文献   

Magnetic anisotropy of HED and Martian meteorites and implications for the crust of Vesta and Mars     

Jrme Gattacceca  Pierre Rochette  Matthieu Gounelle  Matthias Van Ginneken 《Earth and Planetary Science Letters》2008,270(3-4):280-289

We investigate the petrofabric of crustal rocks from Mars and Vesta through the measurement of the anisotropy of the magnetic susceptibility (AMS) of achondrites. Previous data are integrated with new measurements to obtain a dataset that provide macroscopic information about the magnetic fabric of 41 meteorites of the howardite–eucrite–diogenite clan (HED, falls only) and 16 Martian meteorites. The interpretation takes into account the large contribution of paramagnetism to the magnetic susceptibility of these meteorites. We use a model that allows the computation of the anisotropy degree of the population of ferromagnetic grains and provides a quantitative proxy for the degree of shape preferential orientation of these grains in HED and Martian meteorites. The results also provide quantitative information about the shape of the magnetic fabric (prolate, oblate).In HED achondrites, the ductile FeNi grains are sensitive strain recorders and our magnetic fabric data provide the first quantitative insights to the strain history of the crustal rocks of Vesta. Most HED achondrites are breccias but display a strong and spatially coherent magnetic anisotropy, indicating that intense deformation of FeNi grains took place after brecciation. The average fabric of eucrites, howardites is oblate (i.e. the texture is foliated) whereas the fabric of diogenites is more neutral. The howardite results suggest the existence of an isotropic fraction of ferromagnetic minerals that can be ascribed to the presence of carbonaceous chondrite clasts that have preserved their original magnetic fabric. In this hypothesis, howardites have an intensity of petrofabric very similar to eucrites and diogenites. Thermal metamorphism (itself possibly impact-related) plus lithostatic compaction occurring after brecciation appears as the best candidate to explain the observed petrofabric in eucrites and diogenites, whereas compaction by hypervelocity impacts may be reponsible for the fabric of howardites.Martian meteorites may still possess their primary magmatic fabric. Among Martian meteorites, basaltic shergottites and nakhlites display an oblate fabric (foliated texture) with only limited variations among each group. Olivine–phyric shergottites have a neutral fabric that points to a different petrogenesis. Nakhlites have weaker fabric intensity than shergottites. The fabric intensity is comparable to what is classically observed in terrestrial volcanic and plutonic rocks.  相似文献   

Impact-pressure controlled orientation of shatter cone magnetizations in Sierra Madera,Texas, USA     

T. Adachi  G. Kletetschka 《Studia Geophysica et Geodaetica》2008,52(2):237-254

A suite of Sierra Madera Impact deformed rocks was studied and magnetic analyses were performed. We characterized the magnetic signatures of two locations, sites A and B that have different physical characteristics of shock fractured structures as well as the magnetic signatures. Shatter cone at site A has a fine-scale (few to ∼10 mm) distributed array of complete shatter cones with sharp apex. Natural remanent magnetization (NRM) of site A shatter cone is distributed within the plane that is perpendicular to the apexes of the cones. Shatter cone at site B shows no apparent cone shape or apex, instead, a relatively larger scale and multiple striated joint set (MSJS) and sinusoidal continuous peak. NRM of site B shatter cone is clustered along the apexes. The difference in magnetization direction is a likely indicator of the shock pressure where parallel to apex indicates pressures larger than 10 GPa and perpendicular to apex indicate pressures less than 10 GPa. Intensities of NRM and saturation isothermal remanent magnetization (SIRM) contrast and fluctuate within a shatter cone as well as in between two sites. We observed a random orientation of magnetic vector directions and amplitudes changing over small scales leading to the absence of coherent macro-scale signature.  相似文献