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A revised surface age for the North Polar Layered Deposits of Mars
Author(s) -
Landis Margaret E.,
Byrne Shane,
Daubar Ingrid J.,
Herkenhoff Kenneth E.,
Dundas Colin M.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2016gl068434
Subject(s) - impact crater , mars exploration program , geology , polar , astrobiology , eccentricity (behavior) , stratigraphy , paleontology , tectonics , physics , astronomy , political science , law
The North Polar Layered Deposits (NPLD) of Mars contain a complex stratigraphy that has been suggested to retain a record of past eccentricity‐ and obliquity‐forced climate changes. The surface accumulation rate in the current climate can be constrained by the crater retention age. We scale NPLD crater diameters to account for icy target strength and compare surface age using a new production function for recent small impacts on Mars to the previously used model of Hartmann (2005). Our results indicate that ice is accumulating in these craters several times faster than previously thought, with a 100 m diameter crater being completely infilled within centuries. Craters appear to have a diameter‐dependent lifetime, but the data also permit a complete resurfacing of the NPLD at ~1.5 ka.