Science Background
For nearly two decades, our understanding of the martian polar regions has been greatly advanced by the analysis of data acquired by the Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Express, Mars Odyssey, and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft as well as the Phoenix lander.
These data have yielded the first high-resolution topographic maps of the north and south polar layered deposits; submeter-scale images of the stratigraphy exposed in the polar troughs and reentrants; radar sounding investigations of the internal structure and basal topography of the polar deposits; year-round coverage of the thermophysical, radiative, and compositional properties of the polar atmosphere and surface; and in situ investigations of the near-surface volatiles stratigraphy, soil composition, geology, and meteorology of the martian high arctic. Furthermore, comparisons of polar features to terrestrial analogs have proven to be very fruitful in understanding the processes involved.
Some of the specific issues and questions that will be addressed at the meeting include the key questions identified at the end of the fifth conference:
- What are the physical characteristics of the polar layered deposits (PLD) and how are the different geologic units within, beneath, and surrounding the PLD related?
- How old are the PLD, and what are their glacial, fluvial, depositional, and erosional histories?
- What are the mass and energy budgets of the PLD, and what processes control these budgets on seasonal and longer timescales?
- What chronology, compositional variability, and record of climatic change are expressed in the stratigraphy of the PLD?
- How have volatiles and dust been exchanged between polar and nonpolar reservoirs, and how has this exchange affected the past and present distribution of surface and subsurface ice?
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