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The Mars water cycle at other epochs: Recent history of the polar caps and layered terrainThe Martian polar caps and layered terrain presumably evolves by the deposition and removal of small amounts of water and dust each year, the current cap attributes therefore represent the incremental transport during a single year as integrated over long periods of time. The role was studied of condensation and sublimation of water ice in this process by examining the seasonal water cycle during the last 10(exp 7) yr. In the model, axial obliquity, eccentricity, and L sub s of perihelion vary according to dynamical models. At each epoch, the seasonal variations in temperature are calculated at the two poles, keeping track of the seasonal CO2 cap and the summertime sublimation of water vapor into the atmosphere; net exchange of water between the two caps is calculated based on the difference in the summertime sublimation between the two caps (or on the sublimation from one cap if the other is covered with CO2 frost all year). Results from the model can help to explain (1) the apparent inconsistency between the timescales inferred for layer formation and the much older crater retention age of the cap and (2) the difference in sizes of the two residual caps, with the south being smaller than the north.
Document ID
19930010622
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Jakosky, Bruce M.
(Colorado Univ. Boulder, CO, United States)
Henderson, Bradley G.
(Colorado Univ. Boulder, CO, United States)
Mellon, Michael T.
(Colorado Univ. Boulder, CO, United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1992
Publication Information
Publication: Workshop on the Polar Regions of Mars: Geology, Glaciology, and Climate History, Part 1
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Exploration
Accession Number
93N19811
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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