Eroding glacier on Martian slope?
Click for original image.
Cool image time! The picture to the right, enhanced, cropped, reduced, and sharpened to post here, was taken on April 1, 2023 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). It shows what the science team labels as “Rough Ground and Bright Exposures” on the flanks of a wide mountain range on Mars, whose highest point is about 4,400 feet higher to the northeast and about 30 miles away.
The arrow indicates the downhill grade. Notice the smooth flat areas that seem to only partially cover much rougher terrain below. To my eye this top layer resembles an Earth glacier that has partly sublimated or melted away, exposing the rougher bedrock below that has been ground and scraped by the glacier previously.
However, this is not on Earth, so assuming it is like an Earth glacier is dangerous.
The green dot in the inset on the overview map to the right marks the location of this rough ground. At 33 degrees south latitude, it is definitely possible on Mars that we are looking at glacier material, though this latitude is close enough to the equator that the presence of near-surface ice is usually reduced.
The high altitude, located as it is on the Tharsis Bulge, might also change things. On Earth higher elevations increases the amount of ice. On Mars it likely does the opposite, because the atmosphere becomes even thinner and is likely unable to transport water vapor to such locations, at least not in the amounts seen at lower elevations.
These factors might explain the eroded nature of the glacier-like top layer. It is slowly vanishing, not by human-caused global warming (that according to some activists is the root of all evil), but by the generally inhospitably Martian environment to ice at this latitude and high altitude.
One more note: I have no idea what the bright exposures are. It is possible they are exposed ice, no longer covered by a protective layer of dust and debris. It is also possible they are some form of light-colored bedrock. As these bright areas tend to be at high points, it suggests wind is acting to reveal them, one way or the other.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Click for original image.
Cool image time! The picture to the right, enhanced, cropped, reduced, and sharpened to post here, was taken on April 1, 2023 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). It shows what the science team labels as “Rough Ground and Bright Exposures” on the flanks of a wide mountain range on Mars, whose highest point is about 4,400 feet higher to the northeast and about 30 miles away.
The arrow indicates the downhill grade. Notice the smooth flat areas that seem to only partially cover much rougher terrain below. To my eye this top layer resembles an Earth glacier that has partly sublimated or melted away, exposing the rougher bedrock below that has been ground and scraped by the glacier previously.
However, this is not on Earth, so assuming it is like an Earth glacier is dangerous.
The green dot in the inset on the overview map to the right marks the location of this rough ground. At 33 degrees south latitude, it is definitely possible on Mars that we are looking at glacier material, though this latitude is close enough to the equator that the presence of near-surface ice is usually reduced.
The high altitude, located as it is on the Tharsis Bulge, might also change things. On Earth higher elevations increases the amount of ice. On Mars it likely does the opposite, because the atmosphere becomes even thinner and is likely unable to transport water vapor to such locations, at least not in the amounts seen at lower elevations.
These factors might explain the eroded nature of the glacier-like top layer. It is slowly vanishing, not by human-caused global warming (that according to some activists is the root of all evil), but by the generally inhospitably Martian environment to ice at this latitude and high altitude.
One more note: I have no idea what the bright exposures are. It is possible they are exposed ice, no longer covered by a protective layer of dust and debris. It is also possible they are some form of light-colored bedrock. As these bright areas tend to be at high points, it suggests wind is acting to reveal them, one way or the other.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Readers: the rules for commenting!
No registration is required. I welcome all opinions, even those that strongly criticize my commentary.
However, name-calling and obscenities will not be tolerated. First time offenders who are new to the site will be warned. Second time offenders or first time offenders who have been here awhile will be suspended for a week. After that, I will ban you. Period.
Note also that first time commenters as well as any comment with more than one link will be placed in moderation for my approval. Be patient, I will get to it.