CO2 jets formed by sublimation beneath translucent slab ice in Mars' seasonal south polar ice cap

Hugh H. Kieffer, Philip R. Christensen () and Timothy N. Titus
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Hugh H. Kieffer: Celestial Reasonings
Philip R. Christensen: Arizona State University
Timothy N. Titus: US Geological Survey

Nature, 2006, vol. 442, issue 7104, 793-796

Abstract: A levitating ice cap Two papers in this issue discuss the remarkable seasonal changes seen at the martian south pole. The ice caps on Mars are composed mainly of frozen carbon dioxide, with unusual dark spots that have been attributed to a clear slab of nearly pure CO2 ice. Langevin et al. present infrared and visible images from the THEMIS camera on Mars Odyssey that are not consistent with the presence of a thick slab of transparent ice. In the companion paper Kieffer et al. report infrared and visible data that show that the features stay at CO2 ice temperatures well into summer, and must be granular materials brought up to the surface of the ice. They propose a model involving a translucent, impermeable CO2 cap in which sublimation occurs at the base, producing high-velocity CO2 gas flow beneath the ice, levitation of the cap and jets that erupt sand-sized grains through vents.

Date: 2006
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DOI: 10.1038/nature04945

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