| タイトル | Thermal Stability of Frozen Volatiles in the North Polar Region of Mercury |
| 本文（外部サイト） | http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20120009914 |
| 著者（英） | Siegler, Matthew A.; Harmon, John K.; Zuber, Maria T.; Neumann, Gregory A.; Paige, David A.; Solomon, Sean C.; Smith, David E. |
| 著者所属（英） | NASA Goddard Space Flight Center |
| 発行日 | 2012-03-19 |
| 言語 | eng |
| 内容記述 | Earth-based radar observations have revealed the presence on Mercury of anomalously bright, depolarizing features that appear to be localized in the permanently shadowed regions of high-latitude impact craters [1]. Observations of similar radar signatures over a range of radar wavelengths implies that they correspond to deposits that are highly transparent at radar wavelengths and extend to depths of several meters below the surface [1]. Thermal models using idealized crater topographic profiles have predicted the thermal stability of surface and subsurface water ice at these same latitudes [2]. One of the major goals of the MESSENGER mission is to characterize the nature of radar-bright craters and presumed associated frozen volatile deposits at the poles of Mercury through complementary orbital observations by a suite of instruments [3]. Here we report on an examination of the thermal stability of water ice and other frozen volatiles in the north polar region of Mercury using topographic profiles obtained by the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) instrument [4] in conjunction with a three-dimensional ray-tracing thermal model previously used to study the thermal environment of polar craters on the Moon [5]. |
| NASA分類 | Lunar and Planetary Science and Exploration |
| レポートNO | GSFC.CP.00115.2012. |
| 権利 | Copyright, Distribution as joint owner in the copyright |
