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Full-Text Articles in Geomorphology
The Periglacial Landscape Of Mars: Insight Into The 'Decameter-Scale Rimmed Depressions' In Utopia Planitia, Arya Bina
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Currently, Mars appears to be in a ‘frozen’ and ‘dry’ state, with the clear majority of the planet’s surface maintaining year-round sub-zero temperatures. However, the discovery of features consistent with landforms found in periglacial environments on Earth, suggests a climate history for Mars that may have involved freeze and thaw cycles. Such landforms include hummocky, polygonised, scalloped, and pitted terrains, as well as ice-rich deposits and gullies, along the mid- to high-latitude bands, typically with no lower than 20o N/S. The detection of near-surface and surface ice via the Phoenix lander, excavation of ice via recent impact cratering activity as …
The Periglacial Landscape Of Utopia Planitia; Geologic Evidence For Recent Climate Change On Mars., Mary C. Kerrigan
The Periglacial Landscape Of Utopia Planitia; Geologic Evidence For Recent Climate Change On Mars., Mary C. Kerrigan
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
The northern plains of Utopia Planitia, Mars, hosts an abundance of potential periglacial landforms including scalloped depressions, gullies, and polygon networks. This research was undertaken to investigate the distribution and stratigraphy of scalloped depressions in Utopia Planitia and to reconstruct the past environment in which this periglacial landscape formed. To that end, a revised geologic map of the region has been produced. We define, for the first time, a new Periglacial Unit, the youngest geologic unit in Utopia Planitia. We have also developed a model for the formation and evolution of the periglacial landscape examined by assessing the use of …