Abstract DGP2026-128

RADAR EVIDENCE OF SUBSURFACE LAYERS IN THE NORTHERN MID-LATITUDES OF MARS

Devanshi Kacholia (1), Wim H. Bakker (2), and Hossein Aghababaei (2)

(1)Faculty of Geo-information Science and Earth Observation, University of Twente, The Netherlands (At the time of the M.Sc. thesis; current affliliation - DLR-German Remote Sensing Data Center, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany) (2)Faculty of Geo-information Science and Earth Observation, University of Twente, The Netherlands

Several studies on Mars are primarily focused on determining the potential for life and we now know that little has changed on Mars since the Hesperian epoch, 2.9 billion years ago, due to the lack of plate tectonics [1]. As a result, unlike Earth, it is possible to look at Mars as a blank canvas due to no artificial structural advancements. Therefore, the discovery of geological features was possible and their resemblance to small valleys and river plains has only raised the possibilities of finding water on Mars in some form. Mars’ glacial history led to the formation of interesting features such as glacial-like landforms; these formations have flow-like geomorphology, indicating the presence of ice underneath these landforms [2]. Attempts to date these glacial-like landforms by studying their composition have resulted in some progress in understanding Mars' glacial past through these landforms. However, there is still a lack of knowledge of the depths of the GLFs. The undersurface deposits on Mars are mostly dust and dirt [3], detecting them with optical images is difficult. The Shallow Subsurface radar instrument on Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter produces very long wavelength radar imagery and can be utilized to detect subsurface layers on Mars. Overall, this study attempts to examine the depths of glacier-like forms in the mid-latitudes of Mars using SHARAD radargrams; focusing on landforms in Deuteronilus Mensae identified by Pan and Ehlmann [4] as containing phyllosilicates and hydrated silica based on CRISM data. The data obtained by the instrument are in the form of radargrams which can be used for geospatial analysis. Radar sounder performance depends on surface and subsurface reflectance, receiver noise, and topography, with distant topographic features at longer delays generating clutter echoes. Hence, we compare our radargrams to their respective clutter simulations produced using the Colorado SHARAD Processing System.

[1] M. Beech and M. Comte, “Life on Mars: Past, Present, and Future,” in Terraforming Mars, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 2021, pp. 135–160. doi: 10.1002/9781119761990.ch9.

[2] C. Souness, B. Hubbard, R. E. Milliken, and D. Quincey, “An inventory and population-scale analysis of martian glacier-like forms,” Icarus, vol. 217, no. 1, pp. 243–255, Jan. 2012, doi: 10.1016/j.icarus.2011.10.020.

[3] C. M. Dundas et al., “Exposed subsurface ice sheets in the Martian mid-latitudes,” Science, vol. 359, no. 6372, pp. 199–201, Jan. 2018, doi: 10.1126/science.aao1619.

[4] L. Pan and B. L. Ehlmann, “Aqueous Processes From Diverse Hydrous Minerals in the Vicinity of Amazonian-Aged Lyot Crater,” J. Geophys. Res. Planets, vol. 123, no. 7, pp. 1618–1648, 2018, doi: 10.1029/2017JE005461.