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Layers Exposed at North Polar Cap on Mars

by

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona/Novapix

Reference

a-mar11-00045

Date

2017-02-01

At the edge of Mars' permanent North Polar cap, we see an exposure of the internal layers, each with a different mix of water ice, dust and dirt. These layers are believed to correspond to different climate conditions over the past tens of thousands of years. When we zoom in closer, we see that the distinct layers erode differently. Some are stronger and more resistant to erosion, others only weakly cemented. The strong layers form ledges.