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GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS,
VOL. 34,
L09204,
4 PP., 2007
doi:10.1029/2007GL029507
Modeling water ice lifetimes at recent Martian gully locations
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences and Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences and Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Space Science Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
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.
Received 29 January 2007; accepted 12 April 2007; published 11 May 2007.
Citation: (2007), Modeling water ice lifetimes at recent Martian gully locations, Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, L09204, doi:10.1029/2007GL029507.
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