Distribution of hydrogen in the near surface of Mars: Evidence for subsurface 
ice deposits

Boynton, W. V.; Feldman, W. C.; Squyres, S. W.; Prettyman, T. H.; Brückner, J.; Evans, L. G.; Reedy, R. C.; Starr, R.; Arnold, J. R.; Drake, D. M.; Englert, P. A. J.; Metzger, A. E.; Mitrofanov, I.; Trombka, J. I.; d'Uston, C.; Wänke, H.; Gasnault, O.; Hamara, D. K.; Janes, D. M.; Marcialis, R. L.; Maurice, S.; Mikheeva, I.; Taylor, G. J.; Tokar, R.; Shinohara, C.

Item

ITEM ACTIONSEXPORT

Add to Basket

Local TagsRelease HistoryDetailsSummary

Released

Journal Article

Distribution of hydrogen in the near surface of Mars: Evidence for subsurface ice deposits

MPS-Authors

/persons/resource/persons100869

Brückner, J.
Cosmochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons101354

Wänke, H.
Cosmochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Max Planck Society;

External Resource

No external resources are shared

Fulltext (restricted access)

There are currently no full texts shared for your IP range.

Fulltext (public)

There are no public fulltexts stored in PuRe

Supplementary Material (public)

There is no public supplementary material available

Citation

Boynton, W. V., Feldman, W. C., Squyres, S. W., Prettyman, T. H., Brückner, J., Evans, L. G., et al. (2002). Distribution of hydrogen in the near surface of Mars: Evidence for subsurface ice deposits. Science, 297(5578), 81-85.

Cite as: https://hdl.handle.net/11858/00-001M-0000-0014-90D6-4

Abstract

Using the Gamma-Ray Spectrometer on the Mars Odyssey, we have identified two regions near the poles that are enriched in hydrogen. The data indicate the presence of a subsurface layer enriched in hydrogen overlain by a hydrogen-poor layer. The thickness of the upper layer decreases with decreasing distance to the pole, ranging from a column density of about 150 grams per square centimeter at -42degrees latitude to about 40 grams per square centimeter at -77degrees. The hydrogen-rich regions correlate with regions of predicted ice stability. We suggest that the host of the hydrogen in the subsurface layer is ice, which constitutes 35 +/- 15% of the layer by weight.