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.
Click Me!

Site Tools

  • AAAS
  • Subscribe
  • Feedback

Site Search

Search Advanced

Originally published in Science Express on 5 June 2003
Science 27 June 2003:
Vol. 300. no. 5628, pp. 2056 - 2061
DOI: 10.1126/science.1080885
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Research Articles

Morphology and Composition of the Surface of Mars: Mars Odyssey THEMIS Results

Philip R. Christensen,1* Joshua L. Bandfield,1 James F. Bell III,2 Noel Gorelick,1 Victoria E. Hamilton,3 Anton Ivanov,4 Bruce M. Jakosky,5 Hugh H. Kieffer,6 Melissa D. Lane,7 Michael C. Malin,8 Timothy McConnochie,2 Alfred S. McEwen,9 Harry Y. McSween, Jr.,10 Greg L. Mehall,1 Jeffery E. Moersch,10 Kenneth H. Nealson,11 James W. Rice, Jr.,1 Mark I. Richardson,12 Steven W. Ruff,1 Michael D. Smith,13 Timothy N. Titus,6 Michael B. Wyatt1

The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on Mars Odyssey has produced infrared to visible wavelength images of the martian surface that show lithologically distinct layers with variable thickness, implying temporal changes in the processes or environments during or after their formation. Kilometer-scale exposures of bedrockare observed; elsewhere airfall dust completely mantles the surface over thousands of square kilometers. Mars has compositional variations at 100-meter scales, for example, an exposure of olivine-rich basalt in the walls of Ganges Chasma. Thermally distinct ejecta facies occur around some craters with variations associated with crater age. Polar observations have identified temporal patches of water frost in the north polar cap. No thermal signatures associated with endogenic heat sources have been identified.

1 Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287–6305, USA.
2 Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853–6801, USA.
3 Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
4 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA 91109–8099, USA.
5 LASP, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
6 U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA.
7 Planetary Science Institute, Phoenix, AZ 85032, USA.
8 Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, CA 92191–0148, USA.
9 Lunar and Planetary Lab, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
10 Department of Geological Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996–1410, USA.
11 University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
12 Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
13 Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: phil.christensen{at}asu.edu

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Stratigraphic architectures spotted in southern Melas Chasma, Valles Marineris, Mars.
G. Dromart, C. Quantin, and O. Broucke (2007)
Geology 35, 363-366
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The Orbital Search for Altered Materials on Mars.
M. B. Wyatt and H. Y. McSween Jr. (2006)
Elements 2, 145-150
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Evidence for extensive, olivine-rich bedrock on Mars.
V. E. Hamilton and P. R. Christensen (2005)
Geology 33, 433-436
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Dry granular flows can generate surface features resembling those seen in Martian gullies.
T. Shinbrot, N.-H. Duong, L. Kwan, and M. M. Alvarez (2004)
PNAS 101, 8542-8546
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Evidence for Persistent Flow and Aqueous Sedimentation on Early Mars.
M. C. Malin and K. S. Edgett (2003)
Science 302, 1931-1934
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Discovery of Olivine in the Nili Fossae Region of Mars.
T. M. Hoefen, R. N. Clark, J. L. Bandfield, M. D. Smith, J. C. Pearl, and P. R. Christensen (2003)
Science 302, 627-630
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


ADVERTISEMENT
Click Me!

ADVERTISEMENT
Click Me!

To Advertise     Find Products

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