Premium
Modeling water ice lifetimes at recent Martian gully locations
Author(s) -
Williams K. E.,
Toon O. B.,
Heldmann J.
Publication year - 2007
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 - 10.1029/2007gl029507
Subject(s) - mars exploration program , martian , sublimation (psychology) , water ice , astrobiology , liquid water , geology , atmospheric sciences , earth science , physics , psychology , psychotherapist
Mars Global Surveyor identified two instances of recent changes in gully morphology. Images suggest that two gullies had recent discharges of some liquid, leaving a residue behind. The residue might be water ice mixed with dust. We applied a thermodynamic model to these two locations to determine the lifetime of the hypothetical water ice. We find that a very dusty 2m‐thick icepack of moderate density would completely disappear within 1–2 Mars years by sublimation. If the bright deposits are actually ice then we would expect to see them absent in images taken several Mars years from now, unless they are being replenished.