T37 Void Spaces on Planetary Bodies
Monday, 26 October 2020
5:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Meeting Rooms
ICE CAVES ON MARS
Paper number: T37-3
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 6:00 PM – 6:15 PM
Authors
Abstract
Martian caves are situated in environments where phase transitions of water are only by sublimation, and the predominant type of cave ice is expected to be perennial hoarfrost that slowly grows in supersaturated cavities. Crystal growth at martian ambient conditions is slower than on Earth, but far more time is available for hoarfrost to grow continually, and cave hoarfrost deposits could be massive.
The role of cave microclimates for maintaining ice bodies is evaluated comparatively (Earth versus Mars). Free and forced convection transport less sensible heat than in the denser terrestrial atmosphere. Cooling through sublimation is also expected to be far weaker in Martian caves than in terrestrial caves. Hence, the cooling of ice deposits by flow through the cave, often a crucial factor in terrestrial ice caves, is insignificant on Mars, which limits the geographic extent where ice caves (caves in bedrock that host ice) can be expected.
Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 52, No. 6
doi: 10.1130/abs/2020AM-349231
© Copyright 2020 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.