First International Conference on Mars Polar Science 3016.pdf MASS BALANCE OF MARTIAN ICE CAPS: IS THERE ANOTHER TYPE OF POLAR GLACIER? A.T.Wilson, Dept. of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721.
[email protected] Introduction: The recent discovery of water-ice in the summer. Next winter the system cracks again and exposed to the atmosphere in the polar regions of Mars the process repeats itself. As years pass, the sand wedge raises some interesting questions. It implies that at least gets wider and wider. This results in heaving along the some water vapor is being lost to the atmosphere by sides of the cracks which leave a permanent record as these exposed ice surfaces. If one assumes steady state, "patterned" ground. the question immediately arises as to how this ice is In the very high, very cold regions of the McMurdo being replaced. It is proposed that a new type of polar Dry Valleys (Antarctica), the author has observed that glacier is possible in very cold regions with large annual the small ice bodies have large stress cracks, often filled temperature cycles and with relatively low annual with snow. This is presumably due to the extremely ablation. It is also suggested that terrestrial analogues cold ice in these ice bodies not being able to exist, but they have never been described because they accommodate the thermal stresses imposed by the are relatively unspectacular and exist in remote regions annual temperature changes. It is proposed here that as seldom visited by glaciologists. one goes to colder and colder arid areas there is a Background: All glaciers and ice sheets have a natural progression from the "normal" polar glaciers to zone of accumulation (where the mass balance is the new (as yet unrecognized) type of ice body being positive), and a zone of ablation (where the mass described here.