Lobate Debris Apron in Deuteronilus Mensae
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Lobate Debris Apron in Deuteronilus Mensae
ESP_016959_2240  Science Theme: Glacial/Periglacial Processes
This observation is located in the Deuteronilus Mensae region along the highland/lowland dichotomy boundary in the Northern hemisphere of Mars.

This region contains many 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 from the MRO SHARAD instrument has shown them to be composed of nearly pure ice.

The full image shows the edge of one of these mesas with a lobate debris apron extending from its base. Both the mesa top and the surface of the debris apron appear covered with ice-rich mantling materials characteristic of the martian mid-latitudes and thought to have been deposited around 10 million years ago during a period of high obliquity. Ice-rich flows also extend down the side of the mesa onto the surface of the apron, as evidenced by the lobate flow near the top of the image. Several alcoves can also be seen along the mesa wall that appear to be filled with "pasted-on" mantling deposits. Similar features have been observed along the walls of Dao Vallis east of the Hellas Basin, a mid-latitude region that also contains lobate debris aprons.



Written by: Dan Berman  (31 March 2010)
 
Acquisition date
09 March 2010

Local Mars time
14:55

Latitude (centered)
43.621°

Longitude (East)
28.618°

Spacecraft altitude
300.6 km (186.8 miles)

Original image scale range
30.1 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~90 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
25 cm/pixel and North is up

Map projection
Equirectangular

Emission angle
0.4°

Phase angle
41.8°

Solar incidence angle
42°, with the Sun about 48° above the horizon

Solar longitude
61.9°, Northern Spring

For non-map projected images
North azimuth:  97°
Sub-solar azimuth:  348.8°
JPEG
Black and white
map projected  non-map

IRB color
map projected  non-map

Merged IRB
map projected

Merged RGB
map projected

RGB color
non-map projected

JP2
Black and white
map-projected   (1068MB)

IRB color
map-projected   (453MB)

JP2 EXTRAS
Black and white
map-projected  (514MB)
non-map           (489MB)

IRB color
map projected  (174MB)
non-map           (348MB)

Merged IRB
map projected  (274MB)

Merged RGB
map-projected  (264MB)

RGB color
non map           (329MB)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
B&W label
Color label
Merged IRB label
Merged RGB label
EDR products
HiView

NB
IRB: infrared-red-blue
RGB: red-green-blue
About color products (PDF)

Black & white is 5 km across; enhanced color about 1 km
For scale, use JPEG/JP2 black & white map-projected images

USAGE POLICY
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:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

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.