Glacial landscape and paleoglaciation in Terra Sabaea: Evidence for a 3.6 Ga polythermal plateau ice cap

• Published in: Geomorphology
• Main Authors: Bouquety, Axel, Séjourné, Antoine, Costard, F., Bouley, Sylvain, Leyguarda, Eric
• Other Authors: Géosciences Paris Sud (GEOPS), Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2020
• Subjects: [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics]; [SDU.STU]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences; Ice cap
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02407216; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02407216/document; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02407216/file/GEOMOR%20106858_Glacial%20landscape%20and%20paleoglaciation%20in%20Terra%20Sabaea%5B437%5D.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2019.106858

International audience In a previous study, we demonstrated with a comparative morphometrical analysis the first morphometric evidence of a glacial landscape composed of glacial cirques and glacial valleys in the south of Terra Sabaea at an elevation > 1000 m in two impact craters and one mountain. The purpose of this study is to use the same method to seek other geomorphologic evidence of glacial landscapes elsewhere in Terra Sabaea. Based on a comparison between current and old glacial landscapes on Earth and Mars, we identified 81 glacial valleys and possible evidence for a former plateau ice cap dated at 3.6 Ga at the highest elevation in Terra Sabaea. The identified glacial valleys have the same morphometric properties as terrestrial and martian glacial valleys with U-shaped cross-sectional profiles, a V-index >0.2, a length to with ratio >1 and a cross-sectional area to drainage area ratio four times higher than the fluvial ones. Moreover, these properties are different from terrestrial and martian fluvial valleys. We did not find well preserved glacial cirques in this area, this absence questions the origin of glacial valleys. However, the presence of an extensive flat plateau, from which the long valleys radiate, could have hosted an ancient plateau ice cap which was the source of these glacial valleys. A comparison with the Cantal and the Shaluli Shan in the southeastern Tibetan plateau on Earth reveals morphometrical similarities with our study area. In fact, long glacial valleys, originating radially from a plateau at higher elevation are characteristics of an ancient plateau ice cap. This analysis allowed us to propose a polythermal regime for martian glacial landscape, namely a cold-based ice cap except at the margin where the regime is warmed-based due to the steeper topography. This topography created shear stress which increased the heat at the base of the ice and created the outlet glacial valleys. Near the plateau, the radial valleys are U-shaped with a V-index >0.2 but ...