Subsurface radar sounding of the south polar layered deposits of Mars.
The ice-rich south polar layered deposits of Mars were probed with the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding on the Mars Express orbiter. The radar signals penetrate deep into the deposits (more than 3.7 kilometers). For most of the area, a reflection is detected at a time delay that is consistent with an interface between the deposits and the substrate. The reflected power from this interface indicates minimal attenuation of the signal, suggesting a composition of nearly pure water ice. Maps were generated of the topography of the basal interface and the thickness of the layered deposits. A set of buried depressions is seen within 300 kilometers of the pole. The thickness map shows an asymmetric distribution of the deposits and regions of anomalous thickness. The total volume is estimated to be 1.6 x 10(6) cubic kilometers, which is equivalent to a global water layer approximately 11 meters thick.
Plaut
Jeffrey J
JJ
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA.
Picardi
Giovanni
G
Safaeinili
Ali
A
Ivanov
Anton B
AB
Milkovich
Sarah M
SM
Cicchetti
Andrea
A
Kofman
Wlodek
W
Mouginot
Jérémie
J
Farrell
William M
WM
Phillips
Roger J
RJ
Clifford
Stephen M
SM
Frigeri
Alessandro
A
Orosei
Roberto
R
Federico
Costanzo
C
Williams
Iwan P
IP
Gurnett
Donald A
DA
Nielsen
Erling
E
Hagfors
Tor
T
Heggy
Essam
E
Stofan
Ellen R
ER
Plettemeier
Dirk
D
Watters
Thomas R
TR
Leuschen
Carlton J
CJ
Edenhofer
Peter
P
D005118:Extraterrestrial Environment; D007053:Ice; D018535:Mars; D011825:Radar; D018531:Spacecraft; D014867:Water
D007053:Ice; D014867:Water