Balme, M. R.; Gallagher, C. J.; Page, D. P.; Murray, J. B. and Muller, J.-P.
(2009).
| DOI (Digital Object Identifier) Link: | http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2008.11.010 |
|---|---|
| Google Scholar: | Look up in Google Scholar |
Abstract
We have found sorted stone circles and polygons near the equator of Mars, using new 25 cm/pixel NASA HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) images. The sorted circles occur in geologically recent catastrophic flood deposits in the equatorial Elysium Planitia region, and are diagnostic of periglacial processes: sorted polygons do not form from volcanic activity, as has been suggested for non-sorted polygons in this region. These landforms indicate that (i) a long-lived, geologically recent, active cryoturbation layer of ground ice was present in the regolith, (ii) there was some degree of freeze–thaw, and thus (iii) there were sustained period(s), likely within the last 10 Ma, in which the martian climate was 40 to 60 K warmer than current models predict.
| Item Type: | Journal Article |
|---|---|
| Copyright Holders: | 2008 Elsevier Inc. |
| ISSN: | 0019-1035 |
| Keywords: | Mars; Mars, surface; Mars, climate; geological processes |
| Academic Unit/Department: | Science > Physical Sciences Science > Environment, Earth and Ecosystems |
| Interdisciplinary Research Centre: | Centre for Earth, Planetary, Space and Astronomical Research (CEPSAR) |
| Item ID: | 12917 |
| Depositing User: | Matthew Balme |
| Date Deposited: | 27 Jan 2009 02:29 |
| Last Modified: | 16 Nov 2012 12:09 |
| URI: | http://oro.open.ac.uk/id/eprint/12917 |
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