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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Stephen Brough
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND).
Mars’ mid-latitude glacier-like forms (GLFs) have undergone substantial mass loss and recession since a hypothesised last martian glacial maximum (LMGM) stand. To date, there is a lack of knowledge of the nature and timing of the LMGM, the subsequent mass loss and whether this mass loss has been spatially variable. Here, we present the results of a population-scale inventory of recessional GLFs, derived from analysis of 1293 GLFs3 identified within Context Camera (CTX) imagery, to assess the distribution and controls on GLF recession. A total of 436 GLFs were identified showing strong evidence of recession: 197 in the northern hemisphere and 239 in the southern hemisphere. Relative to their parent populations, recessional GLFs are over-represented in the low latitude belts between 25 and 40° and in areas of high relief, suggesting that these zones exert some control over GLF sensitivity and response to forcing. This analysis is complemented by the reconstruction of the maximum extent and morphology of a specific GLF for which High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) derived digital elevation data are available. Using Nye’s (Nye, J.F. [1951] Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond, Ser. a—Mat. Phys. Sci., 207, 554–572) perfect plastic approximation of ice flow applied to multiple flow-lines under an optimum yield strength of 22 kPa, we calculate that the reconstructed GLF has lost an area of 6.86 km2 with a corresponding volume loss of 0.31 km3 since the LMGM. Assuming the loss reconstructed at this GLF occurred at all mid-latitude GLFs yields a total planetary ice loss from Mars’ GLFs of 135 km3, similar to the current ice volume in the European Alps on Earth.
Author(s): Brough S, Hubbard B, Hubbard A
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Icarus
Year: 2016
Volume: 274
Pages: 37-49
Print publication date: 01/08/2016
Online publication date: 19/03/2016
Acceptance date: 11/03/2016
Date deposited: 27/11/2017
ISSN (print): 0019-1035
ISSN (electronic): 1090-2643
Publisher: Elsevier
URL: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2016.03.006
DOI: 10.1016/j.icarus.2016.03.006
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