| Summary: | The Haughton impact structure (23 km in diameter) on Devon Island, High Arctic, has been the subject of a number of scientific investigations since its identification as an impact structure in the early 1970s (see Grieve 1988 for a summary). Due to its near polar location (75.2°N, 89.5°W), Haughton has experienced a predominantly cold and relatively dry climate throughout most of its history, and is for this reason exceptionally well preserved considering its age (~39 Ma). While by no means subject to environmental conditions as extreme as those encountered on Mars at present, the structure’s general climatic setting in a terrestrial polar desert (annual average temperature is –16 °C; annual precipitation is <13 mm)—including the implied continuous permafrost underlying its terrains—and the presence of a number of other geologic features at or near the crater that bear possible relevance to Mars, make the site attractive as a potential analog for Mars (Lee 1997). Haughton is the only terrestrial impact structure known to be set in a polar desert. In 1997, a pilot study was initiated to visit Haughton with an eye towards comparative planetary studies (with focus on Mars) and a small field party of four deployed to Devon
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