Distribution of Hydrogen in the Near Surface of Mars: Evidence for Subsurface Ice Deposits
W. V. Boynton(University of Arizona), W. C. Feldman(Los Alamos National Laboratory), S. W. Squyres(Cornell University), T. H. Prettyman(Los Alamos National Laboratory), J. Brückner(Max Planck Society), L. G. Evans(Research Support Instruments (United States)), R. C. Reedy(Los Alamos National Laboratory), R. Starr(University of America), J. R. Arnold(University of California San Diego), D. M. Drake(TechSource (United States)), P. Englert(Victoria University of Wellington), A. E. Metzger(Jet Propulsion Laboratory), И. Г. Митрофанов(Space Research Institute), J. I. Trombka(Goddard Space Flight Center), C. d’Uston(Centre National d'Études Spatiales), H. Wänke(Max Planck Society), O. Gasnault(Centre National d'Études Spatiales), D. Hamara(University of Arizona), D. M. Janes(University of Arizona), R. L. Marcialis(University of Arizona), S. Maurice(Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées), I. B. Mikheeva(University of Arizona), G. J. Taylor(University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa), R. Tokar(Los Alamos National Laboratory), C. Shinohara(University of Arizona)
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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 -42 degrees latitude to about 40 grams per square centimeter at -77 degrees. 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.
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