Spatio-Temporal Level Variations of the Martian Seasonal South Polar Cap From Co-Registration of MOLA Profiles

Haifeng Xiao , Alexander Stark , Frédéric Schmidt (1, 2) , Jingyan Hao , Shu Su , Gregor Steinbrügge , Jürgen Oberst

1 GEOPS - Géosciences Paris Saclay
2 IUF - Institut Universitaire de France

The seasonal deposition and sublimation of CO₂ represents a major element in the Martian volatile cycle. Here, co-registration strategies are applied to Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter profiles to obtain spatio-temporal variations in snow/ice level of the Seasonal South Polar Cap (SSPC), in grid elements of 0.5° in latitude from 60° to 87°S and 10° in longitude. The maximum snow/ice level in the range of 2-2.5 m is observed over the Residual South Polar Cap. Peak level at the Residual South Polar Cap in Martian Year 25 (MY25) are found to be typically ∼0.5 m higher than those in MY24. The total volume is estimated to peak at approximately 9.4 × 10¹² m³. In addition, a map of average bulk density of the SSPC during its recession is derived. It implies much more snowfall-like precipitation at the Residual South Polar Cap and its surroundings than elsewhere on Mars.

Keywords: MOLA; Mars; seasonal polar caps; level variations; CO<SUB>2</SUB> ice; bulk density

Domains: Sciences of the Universe [physics]

Haifeng Xiao, Alexander Stark, Frédéric Schmidt, Jingyan Hao, Shu Su, et al.. Spatio-Temporal Level Variations of the Martian Seasonal South Polar Cap From Co-Registration of MOLA Profiles. Journal of Geophysical Research. Planets, 2022, 127, ⟨10.1029/2022JE007196⟩. ⟨insu-03745280⟩