NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Transformation of Polar Ice Sublimate Residue into Martian Circumpolar SandThe experimental demonstration that a credible Martian sand may be formed from dust-bearing ice provides a new set of possible explanations for some of the observed Martian aeolian landforms. It is hypothesized that a light-weight fluffy rind is formed on the polar caps. This could provide material easily entrainable by Martian winds, which generally blow equatorward from the poles. These winds would peel the fluffy rind from the surface of the sublimating summer polar caps and from the equatorward slopes of the polar troughs. These pieces of material would then be rolled into lumps (of high sailarea/mass ratio) by the wind. They would become pigmented as they saltate across the surface, perhaps gathering carbonaceous meteoritic dust or other impurities on their surfaces, or through chemical reactions with the ice-free environment away from their point of origin. Once they became trapped in topographic wind shadows, they would form dune structures because they are hydraulically equivalent to sand particles.
Document ID
19850015269
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Other
Authors
Saunders, R. S.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Parker, T. J.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Stephens, J. B.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Laue, E. G.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Fanale, F. P.
(Hawaii Univ.)
Date Acquired
August 12, 2013
Publication Date
April 1, 1985
Publication Information
Publication: NASA, Washington Repts. of Planetary Geol. and Geophys. Program
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Exploration
Accession Number
85N23580
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
Document Inquiry

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available