Mars Express radar gauges water quantity around Mars south pole

The amount of water trapped in frozen layers over Mars' south polar region is equivalent to a liquid layer about 11 metres deep covering the planet.

This new estimate comes from mapping the thickness of the dusty ice by the Mars Express radar instrument that has made more than 300 virtual slices through layered deposits covering the pole. The radar sees through icy layers to the lower boundary, which in places is as deep as 3.7 kilometres below the surface.

"The south polar layered deposits of Mars cover an area as wide as a big portion of Europe. The amount of water they contain has been estimated before, but never with the level of confidence this radar makes possible," said Dr. Jeffrey Plaut of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena (California), co-Principal Investigator for the radar and lead author of the study.

The instrument, named the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS), is also mapping the thickness of similar layered deposits at the north pole of Mars.

“Our radar is doing its job extremely well,” said Prof. Giovanni Picardi of the University of Rome ‘La Sapienza,’ Principal Investigator for the instrument. “MARSIS is showing to be a very powerful tool to probe underneath the Martian surface, and it’s showing how our team’s goals – such as probing the polar layered deposits - are being successfully achieved,” he continued. “Not only MARSIS is providing us with the first ever views of Mars’ subsurface at those depths, but the details we are seeing are truly amazing. We are expecting even greater results when we will have concluded an on-going, sophisticated fine-tuning of our data processing methods. These should enable us to understand even better the surface and subsurface composition.”

Polar layered deposits hold most of the known water on modern Mars, though other areas of the planet appear to have been very wet at times in the past. Understanding the history and fate of water on Mars is a key to studying whether Mars has ever supported life, because all known life depends on liquid water.

Plaut, Picardi and 22 other researchers report analysis of the Mars Express radar instrument's south polar observations in the online edition of the journal Science this week.

The polar layered deposits extend beyond and beneath a polar cap of bright-white frozen carbon dioxide and water at Mars' south pole. Dust darkens many of the layers. However, the strength of the echo that the radar receives from the rocky surface underneath the layered deposits suggests the composition of the layered deposits is at least 90 percent frozen water. One area with an especially bright reflection from the base of the deposits puzzles researchers. It resembles what a thin layer of liquid water might look like to the radar instrument, but the conditions are so cold that the presence of melted water is deemed highly unlikely.

Detecting the shape of the ground surface beneath the ice deposits provides information about even deeper structure of Mars. "We didn't really know where the bottom of the deposit was," Plaut said. "We can see now that the crust has not been depressed by the weight of the ice as it would be on the Earth. The crust and upper mantle of Mars are stiffer than the Earth's, probably because the interior of Mars is so much colder."

The results appear in the 15 March 2007 issue of the Science magazine, in an article by J. Plaut, G. Picardi et al., titled: "Subsurface Radar Sounding of the South Polar Layered Deposits of Mars."

Source: European Space Agency

Related stories:

Mars Express Probes Red Planet's Unusual Deposits
The radar system on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter has uncovered new details about some of the most mysterious deposits on Mars: the Medusae Fossae Formation. It has provided the first direct measurement of the depth and electrical properties of these materials, providing new clues about their origin.
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Provides Insights About Mars Water
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is examining several features on Mars that address the role of water at different times in Martian history.
Back to the Moon: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Project
Of the two luminaries that dominate our sky, it is the moon that is of particular interest to the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) project. The LRO will travel to the moon in late fall 2008, mapping the surface to help pave the way for humans to return. It will help prepare us for extended surface exploration on the moon and for subsequent missions to Mars and other distant destinations. Lunar surface exploration will help us to practice living, working, and gathering science data before we venture into riskier territory.
NASA Orbiter Reveals New Details of Mars, Young and Old
During its first week of observations from low orbit, NASA's newest Mars spacecraft is already revealing new clues about both recent and ancient environments on the red planet.
Buried craters and underground ice - Mars Express uncovers depths of Mars
For the first time in the history of planetary exploration, the MARSIS radar on board ESA's Mars Express has provided direct information about the deep subsurface of Mars. First data include buried impact craters, probing of layered deposits at the north pole and hints of the presence of deep underground water-ice.
Space Physicist finds 'lumpy' ionosphere, glimpses of the subsurface of Mars
University of Iowa Space Physicist Don Gurnett and his UI colleagues report that a scientific instrument aboard the European Space Agency's (ESA) Mars Express spacecraft is working perfectly and that its data have so far revealed that Mars' ionosphere -- part of the upper atmosphere -- is very lumpy and complex, and that the instrument can "see" hidden craters and thick layers of ice beneath the planet's surface.
Scientists Propose Paradigm Shift In Robotic Space Exploration
Just ask any geologist. If you're studying the history of a planet and the life forms that may have lived on it, the really good places to look are rugged terrains like canyons and other areas where water, igneous activity, wind, and seismic rumblings have left their respective marks. Flat is not so good.
Deciphering Mars: Follow The Water
Why do we have such a longstanding fascination with Mars? Very simply put, it's about life. The search for life elsewhere in our solar system has been a major driver for exploring Mars, pretty much since we began seriously looking at that planet.

News discussion:

Space & Earth science news