Stratigraphic and Isotopic Evolution of the Martian Polar Caps from Paleo-Climate Models

TL;DR

This study uses climate modeling to interpret the stratigraphy and isotopic composition of Mars's North Polar Layered Deposits, linking ice migration, orbital variations, and climate history.

Contribution

It introduces a climate model-based approach to understanding the formation and isotopic evolution of Martian polar ice layers, connecting orbital cycles to stratigraphy.

Findings

Polar layers form thicker during tropical ice availability.

Most NPLD ice originates from mid-high latitudes.

NPLD shows consistent isotopic depletion compared to SPLD.

Abstract

Exposed scarps images and ice-penetrating radar measurements in the North Polar Layered Deposits (NPLD) of Mars show alternating layers that provide an archive of past climate oscillations, that are thought to be linked to orbital variations, akin to Milankovitch cycles on Earth. We use the Laboratoire de Meteorologie Dynamique (LMD) Martian Global Climate Model (GCM) to study paleoclimate states to enable a better interpretation of the NPLD physical and chemical stratigraphy. When a tropical ice reservoir is present, water vapor transport from the tropics to the poles at low obliquity is modulated by the intensity of summer. At times of low and relatively constant obliquity, the flux still varies due to other orbital elements, promoting polar layer formation. Ice migrates from the tropics towards the poles in two stages. First, when surface ice is present in the tropics, and second, when the equatorial deposit is exhausted, from ice that was previously deposited in mid-high latitudes. The polar accumulation rate is significantly higher when tropical ice is available, forming thicker layers per orbital cycle. However, the majority of the NPLD is sourced from ice that temporary resided in the mid-high latitudes and the layers become thinner as the source location moves poleward. The migration stages imprint different D/H ratios in different sections in the PLDs. The NPLD is isotopically depleted compared to the SPLD in all simulations. Thus we predict the D/H ratio of the atmosphere in contact with NPLD upper layers is biased relative to the average global ice reservoirs.