This image shows a scarp exposing the south polar layered deposits (SPLD). The polar layered deposits are thought to record recent climate variations on Mars, similar to ice ages on Earth.

Radar data indicate that the SPLD are ice-rich, with variations in dust contamination likely causing the layering visible here. HiRISE images of the SPLD will help to unravel Mars' climate history, but this image illustrates how this effort is complicated.

The development of surface features, by erosion, deposition, or modification of the surface, makes it difficult to determine the characteristics of the layers themselves. Some of the layers appear wavy, perhaps due to folding, flow, or uneven erosion since they were laid down. Short, branching, often radial channel systems are cut into the surface of the layers in places. These may be related to "spiders," thought to be formed as carbon dioxide gas flows along the surface when the seasonal polar cap sublimates in the spring. Pits and polygonal fractures are visible on the layers as well.

Apparently this exposure of SPLD is relatively old, as these features probably take many years to form. While these features are interesting in their own right, they disturb the SPLD outcrops and make it more difficult to measure the thickness of layers and compare them to other outcrops of SPLD.
Written by: Ken Herkenhoff

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

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.