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Publications

Filter Total Items: 915

Knowledge inventory of foundational data products in planetary science

Some of the key components of any Planetary Spatial Data Infrastructure (PDSI) are the data products that end-users wish to discover, access, and interrogate. One precursor to the implementation of a PSDI is a knowledge inventory that catalogs what products are available, from which data producers, and at what initially understood data qualities. We present a knowledge inventory of foundational PS
Authors
Jason Laura, Ross A. Beyer

Widespread exposures of extensive clean shallow ice in the mid-latitudes of Mars

Although ice in the Martian midlatitudes is typically covered by a layer of dust or regolith, it is exposed in some locations by fresh impact craters or in erosional scarps. In both cases, the exposed ice is massive or excess ice with a low lithic content. We find that erosional scarps occur between 50° and 61° north and south latitude and that they are concentrated in and near Milankovič crater i
Authors
Colin M. Dundas, Michael T. Mellon, Susan J. Conway, Ingrid J. Daubar, Kaj E. Williams, Lujendra Ojha, James J. Wray, Ali Bramson, Shane Byrne, Alfred S. McEwen, Liliya Posiolova, Gunnar Speth, Donna Viola, Margaret E. Landis, Gareth A Morgan, Asmin V Pathare

Mars: Abundant recurring slope lineae (RSL) following the planet-encircling dust event (PEDE) of 2018

Recurring slope lineae (RSL) are dark linear markings on Mars that regrow annually and likely originate from the flow of either liquid water or granular material. Following the great dust storm (or planet-encircling dust event, PEDE) of Mars year (MY) 34, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter/High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment has seen many more candidate RSL than in typical Mars years. They have be
Authors
Alfred S. McEwen, Ethan I Schaefer, Colin M. Dundas, Sarah S. Sutton, Leslie K Tamppari, Matthew Chojnacki

Mars Subsurface Water Ice Mapping 2.0 data products and results

This work describes the results of the Mars Subsurface Water Ice Mapping (SWIM) project, with results on the distribution of ice on Mars from geomorphic, radar, and thermal analyses.
Authors
Nathaniel E Putzig, Gareth A Morgan, Zachary M Bain, David M Hollibaugh Baker, Ali M Bramson, Samuel W Courville, Colin M. Dundas, Rachel H Hoover, Stefano Nerozzi, Asmin V Pathare, Matthew R Perry, Eric I Petersen, Hanna G Sizemore, Bruce A Campbell, Marco Mastrogiuseppe, Michael T. Mellon, Isaac B. Smith

Planetary cave exploration progresses

Planetary caves have been identified on the Moon and on Mars, and are likely to occur across the Solar System. They present a new frontier for planetary science, subsurface astrobiology, geology and human exploration. The fourth in a series of scientific meetings focusing on the science and exploration of planetary caves brought together 55 terrestrial and planetary scientists, robotics and instru
Authors
Timothy N. Titus, C. M. Phillips-Lander, P. J. Boston, J. J. Wynne, L. Kerber

Lava–water interaction and hydrothermal activity within the 2014–2015 Holuhraun Lava Flow Field, Iceland

Lava that erupted during the 2014–2015 Holuhraun eruption in Iceland flowed into a proglacial river system, resulting in aqueous cooling of the lava and an ephemeral hydrothermal system. We carried out a monitoring study of this system from 2015 to 2018 to document the cooling of the lava over this time, using thermocouple measurements and data-logging sensors. The heat loss rate from advection th
Authors
Colin M. Dundas, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Einat Lev, M. Elise Rumpf, Christopher W. Hamilton, Armann Hoskuldsson, Thorvaldur Thordarson

Extraformational sediment recycling on Mars

Extraformational sediment recycling (old sedimentary rock to new sedimentary rock) is a fundamental aspect of Earth’s geological record; tectonism exposes sedimentary rock, whereupon it is weathered and eroded to form new sediment that later becomes lithified. On Mars, tectonism has been minor, but two decades of orbiter instrument–based studies show that some sedimentary rocks previously buried t
Authors
Kenneth S. Edgett, Steven Banham, Kristen A. Bennett, Lauren A. Edgar, Christopher S. Edwards, Alberto Fairen, Christopher M. Fedo, Deirdra M. Fey, James B. Garvin, John P. Grotzinger, Sanjeev Gupta, Marie Henderson, Christopher H House, Nicolas Mangold, Scott McLennan, Horton E. Newsom, Scott Rowland, Kirsten L. Siebach, Lucy Thompson, Scott VanBommel, Roger C. Wiens, Rebecca Williams, Aileen Yingst

Mars orbiter for resources, ices, and environments (MORIE)

The MORIE mission concept study examined the science and technical trade space to address high priority questions related to ice reservoirs and environmental transitions. The study team converged on a medium-class SEP-enabled orbiter with seven instruments to unlock the extent and volume of subsurface ice and geologic sequence stratigraphy through time. Observations would include the first radar i
Authors
Wendy M. Calvin, Nathaniel E. Putzig, John W Holt, Ali M Bramson, Colin M. Dundas, Bethany L. Ehlmann, Briony H. N. Horgan, Gareth A Morgan, Scott L. Murchie, G Wesley Patterson, Kimberly D. Seelos, Hanna G Sizemore, Steve Matousek, Ryan Woolley, Carlos Brinoccolo, Valerie Scott, Cassie Stuurman, Kevin Wheeler, Brian Sutin, Marc Lane, Nathan Barba, Ivair Gontijo, Katherine Park, Mariko Burgin, Scott Hensley, Jan Martin, Jean Biancone, David Hinkle, Barbara Insua

Exposure of an early to middle Noachian valley network in three dimensions on Mars

We document a set of channels in a section of the Martian cratered highlands located between crustal massifs northeast of Hellas Planitia that are visible in cross section and planview >200 m below the surface. The morphometry and spatial distribution of the outcrops provide concrete geological evidence of a dynamic aqueous system in a structural sub-basin during the Early to Middle Noachian, bols
Authors
James A. Skinner, Corey M. Fortezzo, Peter J. Mouginis-Mark

Compositional layering in Io driven by magmatic segregation and volcanism

The compositional evolution of volcanic bodies like Io is not well understood. Magmatic segregation and volcanic eruptions transport tidal heat from Io's interior to its surface. Several observed eruptions appear to be extremely high temperature (≥ 1600 K), suggesting either very high degrees of melting, refractory source regions, or intensive viscous heating on ascent. To address this ambiguity,
Authors
Dan C Spencer, Richard F. Katz, Ian J. Hewitt, David A. May, Laszlo P. Kestay

Evaluating stereo DTM quality at Jezero Crater, Mars with HRSC, CTX, and HiRISE images

We have used a high-precision, high-resolution digital terrain model (DTM) of the NASA Mars 2020 rover Perseverance landing site in Jezero crater based on mosaicked images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (MRO HiRISE) camera as a reference dataset to evaluate DTMs based on Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera (MEX HRSC) and MRO Context camera (C
Authors
Randolph L. Kirk, Robin L. Fergason, Bonnie L. Redding, Donna M. Galuszka, Ethan Smith, David Mayer, Trent M. Hare, Klaus Gwinner

Ancient Martian aeolian sand dune deposits recorded in the stratigraphy of Valles Marineris and implications for past climates

Aeolian sediment transport, deposition, and erosion have been ongoing throughout Mars's history. This record of widespread aeolian processes is preserved in landforms and geologic units that retain important clues about past environmental conditions including wind patterns. In this study we describe landforms within Melas Chasma, Valles Marineris, that occur in distinct groups with linear to cresc
Authors
Matthew Chojnacki, Lori K. Fenton, Aaron R Weintraub, Lauren A. Edgar, Mohini Jeetendra Jodhpurkar, Christopher S. Edwards