Sedimentation waves on the Martian North Polar Cap: Analogy with megadunes in Antarctica

International audience Complex interactions between katabatic winds and the cryosphere may lead to the formation of sedimentation waves at the surface of ice sheets. These have been first described and named snow megadunes in Antarctica. Here we use topographic data, optical images, subsurface radar...

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Published in:Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Main Authors: Herny, C., Massé, M., Bourgeois, Olivier, Carpy, Sabrina, Le Mouélic, S., Appéré, T., Smith, I.B., Spiga, A., Rodriguez, S.
Other Authors: Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique UMR 6112 (LPG), Université d'Angers (UA)-Université de Nantes - UFR des Sciences et des Techniques (UN UFR ST), Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut d'astrophysique spatiale (IAS), Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales Paris (CNES), Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG ), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Astrophysique Interprétation Modélisation (AIM (UMR7158 / UMR_E_9005 / UM_112)), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (UMR 8539) (LMD), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-École polytechnique (X)-École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Département des Géosciences - ENS Paris, École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: HAL CCSD 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hal.science/hal-01087723
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2014.06.033
id ftceafr:oai:HAL:hal-01087723v1
record_format openpolar
institution Open Polar
collection HAL-CEA (Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives)
op_collection_id ftceafr
language English
topic [SDU.STU.GL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Glaciology
spellingShingle [SDU.STU.GL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Glaciology
Herny, C.
Massé, M.
Bourgeois, Olivier
Carpy, Sabrina
Le Mouélic, S.
Appéré, T.
Smith, I.B.
Spiga, A.
Rodriguez, S.
Sedimentation waves on the Martian North Polar Cap: Analogy with megadunes in Antarctica
topic_facet [SDU.STU.GL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Glaciology
description International audience Complex interactions between katabatic winds and the cryosphere may lead to the formation of sedimentation waves at the surface of ice sheets. These have been first described and named snow megadunes in Antarctica. Here we use topographic data, optical images, subsurface radar soundings and spectroscopic data acquired by Mars orbiters, to show that the surface of the Martian North Polar Cap displays two superimposed sets of sedimentation waves with differing wavelengths. These sedimentation waves have similarities with Antarctic snow megadunes regarding their surface morphology, texture, grain size asymmetry, and internal stratigraphic architecture. Both sets of Martian sedimentation waves present young ice and occasional sastrugi fields, indicative of net accumulation, on their shallow-dipping upwind sides, their tops and the intervening troughs. Old layers of dusty ice, indicative of net ablation, are exhumed on the steep-dipping downwind sides of the larger waves. Smooth surfaces of coarse-grained ice, indicative of reduced accumulation associated with sublimation metamorphism, cover the steep-dipping downwind sides of the smaller waves. These surface characteristics and the internal stratigraphy revealed by radar soundings are consistent with the interpretation that both sets of Martian sedimentation waves grow and migrate upwind in response to the development of periodic accumulation/ablation patterns controlled by katabatic winds. The recognition of these sedimentation waves provides the basis for the development of a common model of ice/wind interaction at the surface of Martian and terrestrial glaciers. Martian smaller waves, characterized by reduced net accumulation on their downwind sides, are analogous to Antarctic snow megadunes that have been described so far. A terrestrial equivalent remains to be discovered for the larger Martian waves, characterized by net ablation on their downwind sides. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.
author2 Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique UMR 6112 (LPG)
Université d'Angers (UA)-Université de Nantes - UFR des Sciences et des Techniques (UN UFR ST)
Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Institut d'astrophysique spatiale (IAS)
Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales Paris (CNES)
Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG )
Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG)
Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Astrophysique Interprétation Modélisation (AIM (UMR7158 / UMR_E_9005 / UM_112))
Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (UMR 8539) (LMD)
Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-École polytechnique (X)-École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Département des Géosciences - ENS Paris
École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL)
Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL)
Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author Herny, C.
Massé, M.
Bourgeois, Olivier
Carpy, Sabrina
Le Mouélic, S.
Appéré, T.
Smith, I.B.
Spiga, A.
Rodriguez, S.
author_facet Herny, C.
Massé, M.
Bourgeois, Olivier
Carpy, Sabrina
Le Mouélic, S.
Appéré, T.
Smith, I.B.
Spiga, A.
Rodriguez, S.
author_sort Herny, C.
title Sedimentation waves on the Martian North Polar Cap: Analogy with megadunes in Antarctica
title_short Sedimentation waves on the Martian North Polar Cap: Analogy with megadunes in Antarctica
title_full Sedimentation waves on the Martian North Polar Cap: Analogy with megadunes in Antarctica
title_fullStr Sedimentation waves on the Martian North Polar Cap: Analogy with megadunes in Antarctica
title_full_unstemmed Sedimentation waves on the Martian North Polar Cap: Analogy with megadunes in Antarctica
title_sort sedimentation waves on the martian north polar cap: analogy with megadunes in antarctica
publisher HAL CCSD
publishDate 2014
url https://hal.science/hal-01087723
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2014.06.033
long_lat ENVELOPE(163.683,163.683,-74.617,-74.617)
geographic Antarctic
Sastrugi
geographic_facet Antarctic
Sastrugi
genre Antarc*
Antarctic
Antarctica
genre_facet Antarc*
Antarctic
Antarctica
op_source ISSN: 0012-821X
Earth and Planetary Science Letters
https://hal.science/hal-01087723
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2014, 403 (octobre), pp.56-66. ⟨10.1016/j.epsl.2014.06.033⟩
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hal-01087723
https://hal.science/hal-01087723
doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2014.06.033
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container_title Earth and Planetary Science Letters
container_volume 403
container_start_page 56
op_container_end_page 66
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spelling ftceafr:oai:HAL:hal-01087723v1 2024-06-09T07:39:25+00:00 Sedimentation waves on the Martian North Polar Cap: Analogy with megadunes in Antarctica Herny, C. Massé, M. Bourgeois, Olivier Carpy, Sabrina Le Mouélic, S. Appéré, T. Smith, I.B. Spiga, A. Rodriguez, S. Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique UMR 6112 (LPG) Université d'Angers (UA)-Université de Nantes - UFR des Sciences et des Techniques (UN UFR ST) Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Institut d'astrophysique spatiale (IAS) Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales Paris (CNES) Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG ) Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG) Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Astrophysique Interprétation Modélisation (AIM (UMR7158 / UMR_E_9005 / UM_112)) Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (UMR 8539) (LMD) Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-École polytechnique (X)-École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Département des Géosciences - ENS Paris École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL) Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL) Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL) 2014 https://hal.science/hal-01087723 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2014.06.033 en eng HAL CCSD Elsevier info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1016/j.epsl.2014.06.033 hal-01087723 https://hal.science/hal-01087723 doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2014.06.033 ISSN: 0012-821X Earth and Planetary Science Letters https://hal.science/hal-01087723 Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2014, 403 (octobre), pp.56-66. ⟨10.1016/j.epsl.2014.06.033⟩ [SDU.STU.GL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Glaciology info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2014 ftceafr https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2014.06.033 2024-05-16T15:39:28Z International audience Complex interactions between katabatic winds and the cryosphere may lead to the formation of sedimentation waves at the surface of ice sheets. These have been first described and named snow megadunes in Antarctica. Here we use topographic data, optical images, subsurface radar soundings and spectroscopic data acquired by Mars orbiters, to show that the surface of the Martian North Polar Cap displays two superimposed sets of sedimentation waves with differing wavelengths. These sedimentation waves have similarities with Antarctic snow megadunes regarding their surface morphology, texture, grain size asymmetry, and internal stratigraphic architecture. Both sets of Martian sedimentation waves present young ice and occasional sastrugi fields, indicative of net accumulation, on their shallow-dipping upwind sides, their tops and the intervening troughs. Old layers of dusty ice, indicative of net ablation, are exhumed on the steep-dipping downwind sides of the larger waves. Smooth surfaces of coarse-grained ice, indicative of reduced accumulation associated with sublimation metamorphism, cover the steep-dipping downwind sides of the smaller waves. These surface characteristics and the internal stratigraphy revealed by radar soundings are consistent with the interpretation that both sets of Martian sedimentation waves grow and migrate upwind in response to the development of periodic accumulation/ablation patterns controlled by katabatic winds. The recognition of these sedimentation waves provides the basis for the development of a common model of ice/wind interaction at the surface of Martian and terrestrial glaciers. Martian smaller waves, characterized by reduced net accumulation on their downwind sides, are analogous to Antarctic snow megadunes that have been described so far. A terrestrial equivalent remains to be discovered for the larger Martian waves, characterized by net ablation on their downwind sides. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica HAL-CEA (Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives) Antarctic Sastrugi ENVELOPE(163.683,163.683,-74.617,-74.617) Earth and Planetary Science Letters 403 56 66