HiRISE | Monitoring of Polar Avalanche Region (ESP_016292

NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Monitoring of Polar Avalanche Region
ESP_016292_2640 Science Theme: Climate Change

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This HiRISE image shows the scarp that demarcates the boundary between layered deposits covering the north polar region and the lower surrounding terrain, which includes sand dunes.

This image was taken in the northern hemisphere Martian spring, where it is still cold enough that white carbon dioxide frost covers most of the area. At about the same time in the previous Martian spring (February 2008), HiRISE caught four avalanches at this location.

This image does not show any active avalanches, but shows many avalanche deposits. Comparison of this new image with the one taken in 2008 will give an indication of activity over the last Martian year.
Written by: Nathan Bridges (3 March 2010)

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Acquisition date:	17 January 2010	Local Mars time:	2:42 PM
Latitude (centered):	83.827 degrees	Longitude (East):	235.282 degrees
Range to target site:	350.4 km (219.0 miles)	Original image scale range:	35.1 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~105 cm across are resolved
Map projected scale:	25 cm/pixel	Map projection:	POLAR STEREOGRAPHIC
Emission angle:	26.6 degrees	Phase angle:	52.9 degrees
Solar incidence angle:	70 degrees, with the Sun about 20 degrees above the horizon	Solar longitude:	38.9 degrees, Northern Spring
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North azimuth:	95 degrees	Sub-solar azimuth:	313.0 degrees
For map-projected products
North azimuth:	34.76 degrees	Sub solar azimuth:	256.5 degrees

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All of the images produced by HiRISE and accessible on this site are within the public domain: there are no restrictions on their usage by anyone in the public, including news or science organizations. We do ask for a credit line where possible: Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Postscript
For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona. The image data were processed using the U.S. Geological Survey’s ISIS3 software.