CO2 snow depth and subsurface water-ice abundance in the northern hemisphere of Mars

I. G. Mitrofanov, M. T. Zuber, M. L. Litvak, W. V. Boynton, D. E. Smith, D. Drake, D. Hamara, A. S. Kozyrev, A. B. Sanin, C. Shinohara, R. S. Saunders, V. Tretyakov

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

72 Scopus citations

Abstract

Observations of seasonal variations of neutron flux from the high-energy neutron detector (HEND) on Mars Odyssey combined with direct measurements of the thickness of condensed carbon dioxide by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) on Mars Global Surveyor show a latitudinal dependence of northern winter deposition of carbon dioxide. The observations are also consistent with a shallow substrate consisting of a layer with water ice overlain by a layer of drier soil. The lower ice-rich layer contains between 50 and 75 weight % water, indicating that the shallow subsurface at northern polar latitudes on Mars is even more water rich than that in the south.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2081-2084
Number of pages4
JournalScience
Volume300
Issue number5628
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 27 2003

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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