Ice on Noachian and Hesperian Mars: Atmospheric, Surface, and Subsurface Processes
Résumé
Much of the Noachian-Hesperian (i.e. > ~3.0 Ga) geology of Mars remains exposed at the surface, providing a unique opportunity for insight into the early history of an Earthlike planet. Water ice, an important component of present-day Martian geology, was even more abundant in the ancient past. This chapter presents an integrated view of ice on early Mars, discussing the spatial extent, glacio-geology, and climate implications of an early Martian cryosphere, and discusses repercussions for the water budget and its fate that are relevant to later stages of Mars' history (Koutnik et al., 2023). In this chapter, we review the predicted distribution of surface ice under various early Mars climate scenarios, compare these hypothetical ice sheets to the locations on Mars where geological evidence of ancient glaciations has been described, and consider the extent to which valley networks are consistent with an ice-related origin. Finally, we consider the sequestration of ice beneath the surface of Mars as the climate cooled following the time of valley network incision. The abundance of new data from Mars exploration by satellites and rovers in recent decades, along with advances in climate modeling, has allowed for novel insights about the role of ice on early Mars.
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