Streaks on the North Polar Layered Deposits
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Streaks on the North Polar Layered Deposits
ESP_026897_2655  Science Theme: Polar Geology
This image shows an exposure of the north polar layered deposits with strange streaks superimposed on the layers.

These streaks may be formed by winds blowing bright water frost over the surface, removing frost from the surface, or blowing dark material over the frost. These streaks make it a bit more difficult to see the angular unconformity running from upper left to lower right. The unconformity can be traced by finding where the layers at the top of the image are truncated by the layers at the bottom of the image.

This relationship shows that the layered deposits were eroded in this area, probably thousands to millions of years ago, before younger layers were deposited over them. The streaks over them were formed during the current northern summer, and may not persist for long.

Written by: Ken Herkenhoff  (6 June 2012)
 
Acquisition date
22 April 2012

Local Mars time
13:06

Latitude (centered)
85.392°

Longitude (East)
115.143°

Spacecraft altitude
319.6 km (198.6 miles)

Original image scale range
64.0 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects ~192 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
50 cm/pixel

Map projection
Polarstereographic

Emission angle
1.9°

Phase angle
59.5°

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

Solar longitude
100.3°, Northern Summer

For non-map projected images
North azimuth:  123°
Sub-solar azimuth:  319.3°
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HiView

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IRB: infrared-red-blue
RGB: red-green-blue
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Black & white is 5 km across; enhanced color about 1 km
For scale, use JPEG/JP2 black & white map-projected images

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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:
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.