Search Publications
Revised CRISM spectral parameters and summary products based on the currently detected mineral diversity on Mars
Viviano-Beck, Christina E.; Seelos, Frank P.; Murchie, Scott L. +8 more
The investigation of hyperspectral data from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) and the Observatoire pour la Minéralogie, L'Eau, les Glaces et l'Activitié (OMEGA) on Mars Express has revealed an increasingly diverse suite of minerals present on the Martian surface. A revised set of 60 spect…
Global climate modeling of the Martian water cycle with improved microphysics and radiatively active water ice clouds
Forget, F.; Montmessin, F.; Millour, E. +4 more
Water ice clouds play a key role in the radiative transfer of the Martian atmosphere, impacting its thermal structure, its circulation, and, in turn, the water cycle. Recent studies including the radiative effects of clouds in global climate models (GCMs) have found that the corresponding feedbacks amplify the model defaults. In particular, it pre…
The origin and evolution of the Peace Vallis fan system that drains to the Curiosity landing area, Gale Crater, Mars
Williams, Rebecca M. E.; Palucis, Marisa C.; Calef, Fred +7 more
The landing site for the Curiosity rover is located at the distal end of the Peace Vallis fan in Gale Crater. Peace Vallis fan covers 80 km2 and is fed by a 730 km2 catchment, which drains an upland plains area through a 15 km wide gap in the crater rim. Valley incision into accumulated debris delivered sediment through a rel…
Three-dimensional Martian ionosphere model: II. Effect of transport processes due to pressure gradients
Forget, F.; Chaufray, J. -Y.; Leblanc, F. +7 more
To study the transport of the ionospheric plasma on Mars, we have included a 3-D multifluid dynamical core in a Martian general circulation model. Vertical transport modifies the ion density above ~160 km on the dayside, especially the ions produced at high altitudes like O+, N+, and C+. Near the exobase, the daysi…
SHARAD soundings and surface roughness at past, present, and proposed landing sites on Mars: Reflections at Phoenix may be attributable to deep ground ice
Mellon, Michael T.; Putzig, Nathaniel E.; Phillips, Roger J. +3 more
We use the Shallow Radar (SHARAD) on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to search for subsurface interfaces and characterize surface roughness at the landing sites of Viking Landers 1 and 2, Mars Pathfinder, the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity, the Phoenix Mars lander, the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover, and three other sites …
Water in the Martian regolith from OMEGA/Mars Express
Bibring, Jean-Pierre; Langevin, Yves; Gondet, Brigitte +5 more
Here we discuss one of the current reservoirs of water on Mars, the regolith and rocks exposed at the surface. This reservoir is characterized by the presence of H2O- and OH-bearing phases that produce a broad absorption at a wavelength of ~3 µm in near-infrared (NIR) reflectance spectra. This absorption is present in every ice-free spe…
Fresh shallow valleys in the Martian midlatitudes as features formed by meltwater flow beneath ice
Moore, Jeffrey M.; Howard, Alan D.; Hobley, Daniel E. J.
Significant numbers of valleys have been identified in the Martian midlatitudes (30-60°N/S), spatially associated with extant or recent ice accumulations. Many of these valleys date to the Amazonian, but their formation during these cold, dry epochs is problematic. In this study, we look in detail at the form, distribution, and quantitative geomor…
Energization of planetary pickup ions in the solar system
Kallio, E.; Jarvinen, R.
We study the solar wind-induced ion escape from planetary atmospheres at different radial heliospheric distances in the solar system. We derive histograms of the gyroaveraged E×B velocities, energies, and Larmor radii of planetary ions in the solar wind at Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. The statistical analysis is based on the interplanetary Pio…
Stratigraphy and mineralogy of Candor Mensa, West Candor Chasma, Mars: Insights into the geologic history of Valles Marineris
Hauber, E.; Rossi, A. P.; Flahaut, J. +2 more
Candor Mensa, an interior layered deposit (ILD) in Valles Marineris, Mars, consists of two stratigraphically distinct units, the lower of which comprises the bulk of the mensa. This lower unit is approximately 5 km thick and composed of parallel layers, 4 to 14 m in thickness and associated with monohydrated sulfates. The lower unit is disconforma…
Mechanisms and timescales of fluvial activity at Mojave and other young Martian craters
Warner, Nicholas H.; Gupta, Sanjeev; Kim, Jung-Rack +1 more
Mojave Crater, and five other relatively young Late Hesperian to Amazonian-age Martian craters exhibit channelized alluvial fans that are sourced from bedrock-eroded catchments. These catchments emerge from the crests of sloping surfaces, suggesting a formation mechanism that involved precipitation. The evidence for fluvial activity at all six cra…