Scientists: Dry ice glaciers at Mars’ south pole ice cap are active and moving
The moving glaciers are mostly thought to be in the dark troughs on
the edge of the dry ice topping the perennial cap, flowing down to
pond on the water ice below.
The uncertainty of science: According to a newly published paper, scientists have concluded that some of the dry ice glaciers at the Martian south pole ice cap are still active and moving, flowing into basins which allow them to survive longer during warm periods.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) ice is found in a stack of deposits at Mars’ south pole. These deposits are situated in basins, where they reach more than 1 km thick. Previous work suggested that the CO2 ice should be deposited when the axial tilt of the planet was lower, making the poles colder than they are now; however, the thickness and distribution of this ice should be much thinner than observed if only atmospheric effects are working on the ice. Therefore, the CO2 ice deposit distribution cannot be explained by atmospheric deposition alone. In this paper, we use glacial modeling and feature analysis to demonstrate that glacial flow better explains the distribution of ice in its present state. In addition, we show that the slopes on the south polar cap act to focus glacial flow into the basins, where it can survive warm periods by sublimating only the uppermost sections when the tilt of the planet is larger than present day.
The scientists estimate that the motion of these glaciers began approximately 600,000 years ago. According to Isaac Smith of the Planetary Science Institute in Arizona, the paper’s lead author:
“The longest glacier is about 200 kilometers long and about 40 kilometers across. These are big! That activity is ongoing, but flow rates probably peaked about 400,000 years ago when deposition was greatest. We’re in a slow period because the [dry] ice is decreasing in mass, and that slows down glaciers.”
This conclusion however is not confirmed, since to date no high resolution image of the glaciers has actually seen any change. From the paper:
Our search for surface translation over the relatively short baseline of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s [MRO] time in orbit (∼15 years) has not detected any movement.
MRO has the resolution to see this motion, but the rate of movement, likely much less than 8 inches per year, is probably why no changes have yet been detected. Lacking visual proof, the scientists resorted to computer modeling, updating already existing models to better match the data, and consistently found that these glaciers should be moving, based on the known conditions.
Because the conclusion is not confirmed by any observational proof, however, it must be viewed with skepticism. Still, the conclusion is not unreasonable based on the known facts, and given time and now knowing exactly where to look, orbital images are likely to eventually confirm it.
If so, I think (but am unsure) that these glaciers might be the first glaciers of any kind found to be still active on Mars. All the water ice glaciers so far detected appear to be inactive at this time, neither growing nor shrinking.
The support of my readers through the years has given 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. Four years ago, just before the 2020 election I wrote that Joe Biden's mental health was suspect. Only in this year has the propaganda mainstream media decided to recognize that basic fact.
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. Even today NASA and Congress refuse to 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.
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The moving glaciers are mostly thought to be in the dark troughs on
the edge of the dry ice topping the perennial cap, flowing down to
pond on the water ice below.
The uncertainty of science: According to a newly published paper, scientists have concluded that some of the dry ice glaciers at the Martian south pole ice cap are still active and moving, flowing into basins which allow them to survive longer during warm periods.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) ice is found in a stack of deposits at Mars’ south pole. These deposits are situated in basins, where they reach more than 1 km thick. Previous work suggested that the CO2 ice should be deposited when the axial tilt of the planet was lower, making the poles colder than they are now; however, the thickness and distribution of this ice should be much thinner than observed if only atmospheric effects are working on the ice. Therefore, the CO2 ice deposit distribution cannot be explained by atmospheric deposition alone. In this paper, we use glacial modeling and feature analysis to demonstrate that glacial flow better explains the distribution of ice in its present state. In addition, we show that the slopes on the south polar cap act to focus glacial flow into the basins, where it can survive warm periods by sublimating only the uppermost sections when the tilt of the planet is larger than present day.
The scientists estimate that the motion of these glaciers began approximately 600,000 years ago. According to Isaac Smith of the Planetary Science Institute in Arizona, the paper’s lead author:
“The longest glacier is about 200 kilometers long and about 40 kilometers across. These are big! That activity is ongoing, but flow rates probably peaked about 400,000 years ago when deposition was greatest. We’re in a slow period because the [dry] ice is decreasing in mass, and that slows down glaciers.”
This conclusion however is not confirmed, since to date no high resolution image of the glaciers has actually seen any change. From the paper:
Our search for surface translation over the relatively short baseline of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s [MRO] time in orbit (∼15 years) has not detected any movement.
MRO has the resolution to see this motion, but the rate of movement, likely much less than 8 inches per year, is probably why no changes have yet been detected. Lacking visual proof, the scientists resorted to computer modeling, updating already existing models to better match the data, and consistently found that these glaciers should be moving, based on the known conditions.
Because the conclusion is not confirmed by any observational proof, however, it must be viewed with skepticism. Still, the conclusion is not unreasonable based on the known facts, and given time and now knowing exactly where to look, orbital images are likely to eventually confirm it.
If so, I think (but am unsure) that these glaciers might be the first glaciers of any kind found to be still active on Mars. All the water ice glaciers so far detected appear to be inactive at this time, neither growing nor shrinking.
The support of my readers through the years has given 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. Four years ago, just before the 2020 election I wrote that Joe Biden's mental health was suspect. Only in this year has the propaganda mainstream media decided to recognize that basic fact.
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. Even today NASA and Congress refuse to 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.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are five 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:
5. 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. And if you buy the books through the ebookit links, I get a larger cut and I get it sooner.
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