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Target areas for sinking base holes, underground pipelines, etc., can be identified with the assistance of NASA Ames developed technology, by Airborne Pipeline Services, Inc. Subsurface features are computer processed; the system can cover 250 miles a day and was first developed by Applied Science, Inc.
This paper presents a discussion on the geophysical measurements used to explore the presence of water on Mars. Seismic and electromagnetic waves at the subsurface of Mars are examined
This paper presents a detailed description of The Mars Underground Mole (MUM) instrument developed by the Mars Instrument Development Program (MIDP), that is used to study the subsurface of Mars.
We undertook axial surface mapping of selected wrinkle ridges on Solis Planum, Mars in order to assess the subsurface geometry of blind thrusts proposed to exist beneath them. This work builds on previous work that defined structural families of wrinkle ridges based on their surface morphology in this region. Although a growing consensus exists for models of wrinkle ridge kinematics and mechanics, a number of current problems remain. These include the origin of topographic offset across the edges of wrinkle ridges, the relationship between broad arches and superposed ridges, the origin of smaller wrinkles, and perhaps most importantly, the trajectory of blind thrusts that underlie wrinkle ridges and accommodate shortening at deeper crustal levels. We are particularly interested in defining the depths at which blind thrusts flatten under wrinkle ridges in order to provide constraints on the brittle-ductile transition during Early Hesperian time. We also seek to test whether wrinkle ridges on Solis Planum develop above reactivated faults or newly formed ones.
The large, shallow, circular depression in Utopia Planitia has been identified as a huge impact basin, based on both geological evidence and detailed analysis of MOLA topography. Its diameter (approximately 3000 km) is equivalent to that of the Hellas basin, as is its inferred age (early Noachian). However, there the similarity ends. Their appearance, both surficially and geophysically, are virtually polar opposites. Whereas Hellas is extremely deep with rough terrain and large slopes, high-precision MOLA measurements were required to unambiguously define the smooth, shallow, almost imperceptible bowl of the Utopia basin. Conversely, Utopia displays one of the largest (non-Tharsis-related) positive geoid anomalies on Mars, in contrast to a more subdued negative anomaly over Hellas. As these two features presumably formed roughly contemporaneously by similar mechanisms, it is reasonable to assume that they were originally quite similar, and that their differences are due largely to different paths of subsequent modification. The obvious source for these differences is in their elevations: Hellas is located in the southern highlands at a rim elevation of about 3km, whereas Utopia is in the lowlying northern plains, at an average elevation of 4 km. Thus Utopia has been in an especially gravitationally favorable position to be subjected to infilling, for example, by lava flows, sedimentation, or water. In fact, its floor was almost certainly the lowest point on the planet at one time, and it would have been the termination point for down-slope drainage from over two-thirds of Mars. Thus the nature of the material filling this basin has strong connections to the sedimentary and/or volcanic processes acting on Mars in the Noachian and Early Hesperian periods. In particular, it may be able to shed some light on amount and persistence of water on early Mars in general and in the Utopia basin in particular. In this study I will use the inferred early correspondence between Hellas and Utopia to investigate Utopia's subsurface structure.
The distinctive layering visible in images from Mars Global Surveyor of the Martian polar caps, and particularly in the north polar cap, indicates that the stratigraphy of these polar layered deposits may hold a record of Martian climate history covering millions of years. On Earth, ice sheets are cored to retrieve a pristine record of the physical and chemical properties of the ice at depth, and then studied in exacting detail in the laboratory. On the Martian north polar cap, coring is probably not a practical method for implementation in an autonomous lander. As an alternative, thermal probes that drill by melting into the ice are feasible for autonomous operation, and are capable of reasonable approximations to the scientific investigations performed on terrestrial cores, while removing meltwater to the surface for analysis. The Subsurface Ice Probe (SIPR) is such a probe under development at JPL. To explore the dominant climate cycles, it is postulated that tens of meters of depth should be profiled, as this corresponds to the vertical separation of the major layers visible in the MOC images [1]. Optical and spectroscopic analysis of the layers, presumably demarcated by embedded dust and possibly by changes in the ice properties, would contribute to the construction of a chronology. Meltwater analysis may be used to determine the soluble chemistry of the embedded dust, and to monitor gradients of atmospheric gases, particularly hydrogen and oxygen, and isotopic variations that reflect atmospheric conditions at the time the layer was deposited. Thermal measurements can be used to determine the geothermal gradient and the bulk mechanical properties of the ice.
The European Space Agency (ESA) is currently conducting a mission to Mars known as Mars Express. The orbiter carries an instrument called the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS). The MARSIS experiment is a joint project between NASA and the Italian Space Agency, and is being carried out by the University of Rome, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Alenia Aerospazio, and the University of Iowa. This paper describes the science objectives of the experiment, the instrument characteristics, and applications of the MARSIS investigation to studies of the martian polar regions.
Evidence for the presence of ice and fluids near the surface of Mars in both the distant and recent past is growing with each new mission to the Planet. One explanation for fluids forming springlike features on Mars is the discharge of subsurface brines. Brines offer potential refugia for extant Martian life, and near surface ice could preserve a record of past life on the planet. Proven techniques to get underground to sample these environments, and get below the disruptive influence of the surface oxidant and radiation regime, will be critical for future astrobiology missions to Mars. Our Astrobiology for Science and Technology for Exploring Planets (ASTEP) project has the goal to develop and test a novel ultrasonic corer in a Mars analog environment, the McMurdo Dry valleys, Antarctica, and to detect and describe life in a previously unstudied extreme ecosystem; Lake Vida (Fig. 1), an ice-sealed lake.
The Martian dichotomy divides the smooth, northern lowlands from the rougher southern highlands. The northern lowlands are largely free of magnetic anomalies, while the majority of the significant magnetic anomalies are located in the southern highlands. An elevation change of 2-4 km is typical across the dichotomy, and is up to 6 km locally. We examine a part of the dichotomy that is likely to preserve the early history of the dichotomy as it is relatively unaffected by major impacts and erosion. This study contains three parts: 1) the geologic history, which is summarized below and detailed in McGill et al., 2) the study of the gravity and magnetic field to better constrain the subsurface structure and history of the magnetic field (this abstract), and 3) modeling of the relaxation of this area. Our overall goal is to place constraints on formation models of the dichotomy by constraining lithospheric properties. Initial results for the analysis of the geology, gravity, and magnetic field studies are synthesized in Smrekar et al..
There are numerous challenges in successfully implementing and interpreting planetary ground penetrating radar (GPR) measurements. Many are due to substantial uncertainties in the target ground parameters and the intervening medium (i.e., the ionosphere). These uncertainties generate a compelling need for meaningful quantitative simulation of the planetary GPR problem. An accurate numerical model would enable realistic numerical GPR simulations using parameter regimes much broader than are possible in laboratory or field experiments. Parameters such as source bandwidth and power, surface and subsurface features, and ionospheric profiles could be rapidly iterated to understand their impact on GPR performance and the reliable interpretation of GPR data.
Data collected by the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Spirit at Gusev Crater suggest that enhanced weathering of rocks and soils occurs beneath the immediate surface. We suggest that this alteration occurs over geological timescales under present climatic conditions and is a result of diurnal condensation of thin-films of water on subsurface materials. Additional information is included in the original extended abstract.
The purpose of this survey is the detection of surface and subsurface Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) and in a broader sense the site characterization for identification of contaminated as well as clear areas.
Equatorial Pacific current and temperature fields were simulated with and without assimilation of subsurface temperature measurements for April 1992 - March 1995, and compared with moored bouy and research vessel current measurements.
The relative accuracies of three surface wind data products for the tropical Pacific Ocean during April 1992 to March 1994 were examined by analyzing temperature and current fields along the equator, which were simulated with an ocean general circulation model. Simulations were made with and without assimilation of surface and subsurface temperature data. Simulated currents were compared with observations at three sites (170oW, 140oW, 110oW) at the equator. Model-generated currents and temperatures indicated that the ERS-1 westward wind speeds were low compared to the FSU and NMC winds. With data assimilation, the agreement between simulated and observed currents was highest at 170oW and lowest at 110oW.
The Mars Polar Caps are highly interesting features of Mars and have received much recent attention with new and exciting data on morphology, basal units, and layered outcroppings. We have examined the climatological, glaciological, and geological issues associated with a subsurface exploration of the Mars North Polar Cap and have determined that a finescale optical examination of ice in a borehole, to examine the stratigraphy, geochemistry and geochronology of the ice, is feasible. This information will enable reconstruction of the development of the cap as well as predication of the properties of its ice. We present visible imagery taken of dust inclusions in archived Greenland ice cores as well as in-situ images of accreted lithologic inclusions in West Antarctica, and we argue for use of this kind of data in Mars climate reconstruction as has been successful with Greenland and Antarctic ice core anlaysis.
The Mars Polar Caps are highly interesting features of Mars and have received much recent attention with new and exciting data on morphology, basal units, and layered outcroppings. We have examined the climatological, glaciological, and geological issues associated with a subsurface exploration of the Mars North Polar Cap and have determined that a finescale optical examination of ice in a borehole, to examine the stratigraphy, geochemistry and geochronology of the ice, is feasible. This information will enable reconstruction of the development of the cap as well as prediction of the properties of its ice. We present visible imagery taken of dust inclusions in archived Greenland ice cores as well as in-situ images of accreted lithologic inclusions in West Antarctica, and we argue for use of this kind of data in Mars climate reconstruction as has been successful with Greenland and Antarctic ice core analysis. .
There is growing evidence for ice and fluids near the surface of Mars with potential discharge of brines, which may preserve a record of past life on the planet. Proven techniques to sample Mars subsurface will be critical for future NASA astrobiology missions that will search for such records.
Vernal Crater is a Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) landing site candidate providing relatively easy access to extensively layered sediments as well as potential lake deposits. Sediments of Vernal Crater are 400-1200 m below those being investigated by Opportunity in Meridiani Planum, and as such would allow study of significantly older geologic units, if Vernal Crater were selected for MSL. The location of Vernal Crater in SW Arabia Terra provides exceptional scientific interest, as rampart craters and gamma-ray spectrometer (GRS) data from the region suggest a long history of ice/fluids in the subsurface. The potential value of this MSL candidate is further enhanced by reports of atmospheric methane over Arabia, as any insight into the source of that methane would significantly increase our understanding of Mars. Finally, should MSL survive beyond its prime mission, the gentle slope within Vernal Crater would provide a route out of the crater for study of the once ice/fluid-rich plains.