Ice-Rich Lobate Debris Aprons in Promethei Terra
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Ice-Rich Lobate Debris Aprons in Promethei Terra
ESP_020319_1470  Science Theme: Glacial/Periglacial Processes
This image shows a portion of a lobate debris apron along the bottom of a hill in the Promethei Terra region of Mars. This region contains many such mesas surrounded by lobate debris aprons that are thought to be ice-rich. These aprons have been interpreted as a variety of possible features including rock glaciers, ice-rich mass movements, or debris-covered glacial flows. Recent radar data have shown them to be composed of nearly 100% pure ice. Parallel grooves and ridges indicate the direction of flow.

Both the debris apron and the plains beyond it are blanketed with an ice-rich mantle that is common throughout the Martian mid-latitudes. The mantle deposits are pitted and grooved perhaps due to the sublimation of ice. This mantle is thought to have been deposited as snow around 10 million years ago during a period of high obliquity, when the planet’s axis was more tilted and environmental conditions could have been more conducive to snowfall in these regions.

Several small impact craters are visible on the plains that appear to have been filled with mantling deposits that have subsequently been partially removed. These craters give us clues to the erosional history of the deposit.

Written by: Dan Berman  (5 January 2011)
 
Acquisition date
26 November 2010

Local Mars time
15:46

Latitude (centered)
-32.691°

Longitude (East)
105.272°

Spacecraft altitude
252.9 km (157.2 miles)

Original image scale range
50.6 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects ~152 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
50 cm/pixel and North is up

Map projection
Equirectangular

Emission angle
0.0°

Phase angle
60.5°

Solar incidence angle
61°, with the Sun about 29° above the horizon

Solar longitude
188.0°, Northern Autumn

For non-map projected images
North azimuth:  97°
Sub-solar azimuth:  22.6°
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Black & white is 5 km across; enhanced color about 1 km
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All of the images produced by HiRISE and accessible on this site are within the public domain: there are no restrictions on their usage by anyone in the public, including news or science organizations. We do ask for a credit line where possible:
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POSTSCRIPT
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.