This image features the north polar layered deposits. The flat tongue-shaped feature at the bottom of the image is the surface of the cap.

The bright textured region near the top of the image is polygonal ground, which is commonly found in the Martian high-latitudes. Polygonal ground formation is thought to relate to temperature cycles in ice-rich soil.

Just south of the polygonal ground, a bright layer within the cap can be seen eroding in the form of landslides, particularly near the center of the image.

The most noticeable part of the polar cap is visible in an unconformity, the horizontal break in the cap layers. An unconformity is caused by non-uniform erosion or deposition. In this case, non-uniform erosion or deposition might have occurred due to variable climate over geologic time.

Written by: Kelly Kolb

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.