Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Site Tools

  • AAAS
  • Subscribe
  • Feedback

Site Search

Search Advanced

Science 13 March 1998:
Vol. 279. no. 5357, pp. 1686 - 1692
DOI: 10.1126/science.279.5357.1686
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Reports

Topography of the Northern Hemisphere of Mars from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter

D. E. Smith, * M. T. Zuber, dagger H. V. Frey, J. B. Garvin, J. W. Head, D. O. Muhleman, G. H. Pettengill, R. J. Phillips, S. C. Solomon, H. J. Zwally, W. B. Banerdt, T. C. Duxbury

The first 18 tracks of laser altimeter data across the northern hemisphere of Mars from the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft show that the planet at latitudes north of 50° is exceptionally flat; slopes and surface roughness increase toward the equator. The polar layered terrain appears to be a thick ice-rich formation with a non-equilibrium planform indicative of ablation near the periphery. Slope relations suggest that the northern Tharsis province was uplifted in the past. A profile across Ares Vallis channel suggests that the discharge through the channel was much greater than previously estimated. The martian atmosphere shows significant 1-micrometer atmospheric opacities, particularly in low-lying areas such as Valles Marineris.

D. E. Smith, H. V. Frey, J. B. Garvin, H. J. Zwally, Earth Sciences Directorate, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
M. T. Zuber and G. H. Pettengill, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
J. W. Head, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA.
D. O. Muhleman, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
R. J. Phillips, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA.
S. C. Solomon, Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC 20015, USA.
W. B. Banerdt and T. C. Duxbury, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed.

dagger    Also at: Laboratory for Terrestrial Physics, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Lithospheric flexure and the origin of the dichotomy boundary on Mars.
T. R. Watters (2003)
Geology 31, 271-274
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Internal Structure and Early Thermal Evolution of Mars from Mars Global Surveyor Topography and Gravity.
M. T. Zuber, S. C. Solomon, R. J. Phillips, D. E. Smith, G. L. Tyler, O. Aharonson, G. Balmino, W. B. Banerdt, J. W. Head, C. L. Johnson, et al. (2000)
Science 287, 1788-1793
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Possible Ancient Oceans on Mars: Evidence from Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter Data.
J. W. Head III, H. Hiesinger, M. A. Ivanov, M. A. Kreslavsky, S. Pratt, and B. J. Thomson (1999)
Science 286, 2134-2137
   Abstract »    Full Text »
The Gravity Field of Mars: Results from Mars Global Surveyor.
D. E. Smith, W. L. Sjogren, G. L. Tyler, G. Balmino, F. G. Lemoine, and A. S. Konopliv (1999)
Science 286, 94-97
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Observations of the North Polar Region of Mars from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter.
M. T. Zuber, D. E. Smith, S. C. Solomon, J. B. Abshire, R. S. Afzal, O. Aharonson, K. Fishbaugh, P. G. Ford, H. V. Frey, J. B. Garvin, et al. (1998)
Science 282, 2053-2060
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Mars Global Surveyor Mission: Overview and Status.
A. L. Albee, F. D. Palluconi, and R. E. Arvidson (1998)
Science 279, 1671-1672
   Abstract »    Full Text »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)