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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Characterizing Ice-Wedge Polygon Geomorphology In The Haughton Impact Structure, Devon Island, Jordan Hawkswell Oct 2018

Characterizing Ice-Wedge Polygon Geomorphology In The Haughton Impact Structure, Devon Island, Jordan Hawkswell

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Ice-wedge polygon networks are a common feature in periglacial environments formed through thermal contraction cracking and snowmelt infiltration. Polygons of similar morphology are ubiquitous throughout the mid-latitudes of Mars and are believed to have formed through thermal contraction processes. This study aims to characterize the polygons on Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic and the significant variations in geomorphology they display. The study uses LiDAR data to map, analyse, and compare three sites of polygonal terrain. Variations in polygon morphology such as size and orthogonality are observed in the relatively small study area. The results show that polygon morphologic variations …


The Periglacial Landscape Of Mars: Insight Into The 'Decameter-Scale Rimmed Depressions' In Utopia Planitia, Arya Bina Aug 2018

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 …