Nature of the South Pole on Mars Determined by Topographic Forcing of Atmosphere Dynamics

Colaprete, A.; Barnes, Jeffrey R.; Haberle, Robert M.; Hollingsworth, Jeffery L.; Kieffer, Hugh H.; Titus, Timothy N.

Introduction: The observed Springtime (Ls approx. 200) surface albedo in the Martian southern polar region is shown in Figure 1. In general, the hemisphere west of Hellas is marked by relatively high values of surface albedo. In contrast, the hemisphere east of Hellas contains extensive regions of very low surface albedo. One of the brightest features within the western hemisphere is the South Pole Residual Cap (SPRC). The dark region, which dominates the eastern hemisphere, is the "Cryptic" region[1]. The nature of the SPRC has been the source of considerable debate since its identification as CO2 ice by the Viking spacecraft. Two fundamental questions still exist regarding the SPRC s formation, location and stability. First, why is the SPRC offset from the geographic pole? There are no local topographic features or surface properties that can account for the offset in the SPRC. Second, does the SPRC represent a large or a small reservoir of CO2? If the former, then it could possibly buffer the surface pressure. If the latter, then the SPRC may not survive every year.

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20050167183

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Headquarters

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Conference Paper

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September 7, 2013

Publication Date

January 1, 2005

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Publication: Lunar and Planetary Science XXXVI, Part 3

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