On the Visual Colour of Martian Polar Deposits

G. Bellucci (1) , F. Altieri (1) , Bernard Schmitt (2) , J.-P. Bibring (3)

1 IFSI - Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario
2 LPG - Laboratoire de Planétologie de Grenoble
3 IAS - Institut d'astrophysique spatiale

The OMEGA imaging spectrometer provides contiguous spectral images at ~1 km spatial scale in the 0.36 – 5.2 ìm wavelength range. Since beginning of its operations in January 2004, it has mapped the Martian polar deposits several times at different seasons. In this paper we have studied the spectral characteristics of these deposits in the visual range. In particular, we report on the spectral characteris tics of the interlayer deposits which show a distinct bluer colour compared to the surrounding ice-free terrains. The implications on the deposition and nature of these deposits are discussed.

G. Bellucci, F. Altieri, Bernard Schmitt, J.-P. Bibring. On the Visual Colour of Martian Polar Deposits. First Mars Express Science Conference, ESA/ESTEC, Feb 2005, Noordwijk, Netherlands. ⟨insu-00364567⟩