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Gravitational Effects of Flooding and Filling of Impact Basins on MarsThe presence of large impact basins and the low northern plains that might have contained ice or liquid water at an earlier stage of Mars evolution suggests that the global gravity field could have been different in the distant past than it is today. In addition, any significant change in the distribution of mass affects the moments of inertia and consequently and could conceivably change the position of the pole and the length of day. Similar effects could have been produced by large erosional processes, such as the removal of crustal material from the Arabia Terra region and subsequent re-deposition in the Chryse region of the northern plains. We have endeavored to estimate the magnitudes of material that might have been involved in these processes and their possible effect on the gravity and dynamics of Mars. We have used present-day topography and gravity field as a starting point, recognizing that both the result of the processes that we are trying to study rather than the state at the times of interest.
Document ID
20040066056
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Smith, David E.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Zuber, Maria T.
(Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. Cambridge, MA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 21, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2004
Publication Information
Publication: Lunar and Planetary Science XXXV: Mars
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
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