EarthRef.org Reference Database (ERR)
Development and Maintenance by the EarthRef.org Database Team

Detailed Reference Information
Crider & Killen 2005
Crider, D. and Killen, R.M. (2005). Burial rate of Mercury's polar volatile deposits. Geophysical Research Letters 32: doi: 10.1029/2005GL022689. issn: 0094-8276.

Delay Doppler images of Mercury's polar regions showing enhanced radar backscatter have been interpreted as evidence for water ice in the polar craters and are consistent with pure water ice covered by about 20 cm of regolith. In this paper we assume that the volatile at the Hermean poles is water ice, and that it was initially deposited at one time in a clean layer. We constrain the time of such an impact by determining the rate of regolith emplacement. The rate of burial of ice deposits in polar craters on Mercury is estimated to be 0.43 cm/Myr. If the ice deposits in Hermean polar craters are both clean and buried by 20 cm of regolith, they must be relatively recently emplaced, <50 Myr ago. The predicted H concentration in the uppermost meter of regolith is calculated as a function of both time since emplacement of the ice and initial thickness of the ice layer. The combination of neutron data and radar data can provide additional insight into the size and age of ice deposits at Mercury.

BACKGROUND DATA FILES

Abstract

Keywords
Planetary Sciences, Solid Surface Planets, Ices, Planetary Sciences, Solid Surface Planets, Erosion and weathering, Planetary Sciences, Solid Surface Planets, Origin and evolution, Planetary Sciences, Solid Surface Planets, Polar regions, Planetary Sciences, Solid Surface Planets, Remote sensing
Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
http://www.agu.org/journals/gl/
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
2000 Florida Avenue N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009-1277
USA
1-202-462-6900
1-202-328-0566
service@agu.org
Click to clear formClick to return to previous pageClick to submit