Revealing the History of Volcanism and Climate on Mars Using Radar
When
Where
Research Space Scientist
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Candidate for faculty position, Earth Dynamics Observatory (comparative planetology)
Radar remote sensing has the capability to penetrate through rock and can reveal stratigraphy hundreds of meters below the surface. Recent ground penetrating radars (GPRs) on the Mars Express and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter missions have significantly changed our view of Mars geology. Radar data have revealed subsurface interfaces associated with lava flows and pyroclastics, and these data provide 3-D stratigraphic profiles, improved limits on unit volumes, and dielectric constant measurements (related to composition and density of the rocks). The polar ice deposits also have extensive internal layering visible to radar, which provides insight into how the climate has evolved with obliquity changes. In the next decade, two rover-based (ExoMars and Mars2020) GPR instruments will produce higher-resolution subsurface profiling. In this talk I will present recent results regarding Mars volcanic deposits, describe lab experiments and fieldwork designed to better understand the polar ice deposits, and discuss the future of radars at Mars.