@article{bb970a9ac24b4fb7abeec7fb56a94236,
title = "Martian subsurface cryosalt expansion and collapse as trigger for landslides",
abstract = "On Mars, seasonal martian flow features known as recurring slope lineae (RSL) are prevalent on sun-facing slopes and are associated with salts. On Earth, subsurface interactions of gypsum with chlorides and oxychlorine salts wreak havoc: instigating sinkholes, cave collapse, debris flows, and upheave. Here, we illustrate (i) the disruptive potential of sulfate-chloride reactions in laboratory soil crust experiments, (ii) the formation of thin films of mixed ice-liquid water “slush” at −40° to −20°C on salty Mars analog grains, (iii) how mixtures of sulfates and chlorine salts affect their solubilities in low-temperature environments, and (iv) how these salt brines could be contributing to RSL formation on Mars. Our results demonstrate that interactions of sulfates and chlorine salts in fine-grained soils on Mars could absorb water, expand, deliquesce, cause subsidence, form crusts, disrupt surfaces, and ultimately produce landslides after dust loading on these unstable surfaces.",
author = "Bishop, {J. L.} and M. Ye{\c s}ilba{\c s} and Hinman, {N. W.} and Burton, {Z. F.M.} and Englert, {P. A.J.} and Toner, {J. D.} and McEwen, {A. S.} and Gulick, {V. C.} and Gibson, {E. K.} and C. Koeberl",
note = "Funding Information: Support from the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) grant number NNX15BB01 to J.L.B., M.Y., N.W.H., Z.F.M.B., and V.C.G. is much appreciated. M.Y. is grateful for support from the NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) within the NAI that is administered by the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) under contract with NASA. M.Y. also thanks the Swedish Research Council grant (2018-06694) for support. Z.F.M.B. thanks the Clay Minerals Society and the Geological Society of America for support. Publisher Copyright: Copyright {\textcopyright} 2021 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License 4.0 (CC BY-NC).",
year = "2021",
month = feb,
day = "3",
doi = "10.1126/sciadv.abe4459",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "7",
journal = "Science advances",
issn = "2375-2548",
publisher = "American Association for the Advancement of Science",
number = "6",
}