The south pole of Mars [
http://spaceflight.…] is the bright area near the center of the detailed, subtly shaded color image above. Recorded in September of this year by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft, the picture shows [
http://www.msss.com…] a region surrounding the 400 kilometer wide martian polar cap [
http://btc.montana.…] in the midst of southern hemisphere spring [
http://www.msss.com…]. During this season the ice cap [
http://mars.jpl.nas…], predominantly layers of frozen carbon dioxide [
http://www.ars.usda…] (dry ice [
http://www.dryicein…]) plus some water ice, begins to shrink as the ices change directly from solid to gas (sublimate). Hazy clouds [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] of ice crystals [
http://marswatch.tn…] and fog, extend across the bottom of the picture and a darker, more defrosted area is visible at the upper right, near the Red Planet's [
http://www.uapress.…contents.htm ] night side. A wealth of [
http://ltpwww.gsfc.…] MGS data has allowed changes in the extent and density [
http://www.gsfc.nas…] of the ice cap to be tracked over time. Now, researchers are also reporting indications that, in addition to seasonal changes [
http://www.mgcm.arc…climate_study.html ], overall the martian southern ice cap has been dwindling in recent years -- dramatic evidence of [
http://mars.jpl.nas…co2_cover_100.html ] a changing martian climate [
http://www.jpl.nasa…release_2001_238.htm l ]. At the measured rate, the increasing amount of carbon dioxide released could gradually raise Mars' atmospheric pressure, doubling it over hundreds to thousands of martian [
http://www.hunteria…Archives/mars/marsfa cts.html ] years.
Explanation
The south pole of Mars [
http://spaceflight.…] is the bright area near the center of the detailed, subtly shaded color image above. Recorded in September of this year by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft, the picture shows [
http://www.msss.com…] a region surrounding the 400 kilometer wide martian polar cap [
http://btc.montana.…] in the midst of southern hemisphere spring [
http://www.msss.com…]. During this season the ice cap [
http://mars.jpl.nas…], predominantly layers of frozen carbon dioxide [
http://www.ars.usda…] (dry ice [
http://www.dryicein…]) plus some water ice, begins to shrink as the ices change directly from solid to gas (sublimate). Hazy clouds [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] of ice crystals [
http://marswatch.tn…] and fog, extend across the bottom of the picture and a darker, more defrosted area is visible at the upper right, near the Red Planet's [
http://www.uapress.…contents.htm ] night side. A wealth of [
http://ltpwww.gsfc.…] MGS data has allowed changes in the extent and density [
http://www.gsfc.nas…] of the ice cap to be tracked over time. Now, researchers are also reporting indications that, in addition to seasonal changes [
http://www.mgcm.arc…climate_study.html ], overall the martian southern ice cap has been dwindling in recent years -- dramatic evidence of [
http://mars.jpl.nas…co2_cover_100.html ] a changing martian climate [
http://www.jpl.nasa…release_2001_238.htm l ]. At the measured rate, the increasing amount of carbon dioxide released could gradually raise Mars' atmospheric pressure, doubling it over hundreds to thousands of martian [
http://www.hunteria…Archives/mars/marsfa cts.html ] years.
Explanation
