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JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 111, E09014, doi:10.1029/2006JE002702, 2006

Northern hemisphere Martian gullies and mantled terrain: Implications for near-surface water migration in Mars' recent past

Nathan T. Bridges

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA


Claire N. Lackner

Department of Physics, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA


Abstract

We report on a systematic study of gullies and mantled terrain in the northern hemisphere of Mars. Consistent with previous work, the mantled terrain is generally located on poleward-facing slopes, and gullies are found at all orientations. New results are as follows: (1) The range of orientations of mantled terrain increases toward the pole, (2) near-polar gullies are commonly less morphologically developed compared to ones in the temperate latitudes, (3) gullies toward the pole are better preserved than those closer to the equator, and (4) these studies are conducted in the northern hemisphere, whereas most previous work investigated the south. No gully model in the literature cleanly fits all these observations (nor any other gully observations reported in other papers). However, the likely effects of obliquity and precession variations on snow formation, preservation, and melting are consistent with many of the results.

Received 15 February 2006; accepted 23 June 2006; published 23 September 2006.

Keywords: gullies; Mars climate change; Mars water.

Index Terms: 6225 Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects: Mars; 5419 Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets: Hydrology and fluvial processes; 5470 Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets: Surface materials and properties; 5415 Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets: Erosion and weathering.

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Citation: Bridges, N. T., and C. N. Lackner (2006), Northern hemisphere Martian gullies and mantled terrain: Implications for near-surface water migration in Mars' recent past, J. Geophys. Res., 111, E09014, doi:10.1029/2006JE002702.