Published in

American Geophysical Union, Geophysical Research Letters, 15(30), 2003

DOI: 10.1029/2003gl017795

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North-south topographic slope asymmetry on Mars: Evidence for insolation-related erosion at high obliquity

Journal article published in 2003 by M. A. Kreslavsky ORCID, J. W. Head
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

A map of north-south subkilometer-scale slope asymmetry on Mars obtained from statistical analysis of along-track MOLA topographic profiles reveals well-defined zonal belts of north-south slope asymmetry at 40-50° latitude in both hemispheres. In these narrow anomalous belts the pole-facing slopes are systematically gentler than equator-facing slopes. This asymmetry is especially pronounced for the steepest (>20°) slopes, in which pole-facing slopes are three times less frequent than >20° slopes facing the equator. We interpret these belts to be related to insolation asymmetry. Specifically, we suggest that summertime melting of ground ice on pole-facing slopes occurred during periods of very high obliquity (~45°) in the past and favored downslope movement of material and reduction of steep pole-facing slopes.