New Views of the Internal Structure of Planum Boreum from Enhanced 3D Imaging of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Shallow Radar Data

Abstract

Abstract We present first results from a new 3D radargram produced from 3399 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) Shallow Radar observations of the north polar region of Mars. While incorporating an additional 5 yr of observations relative to the prior 3D radargram, we employed surface-clutter simulations to improve the coregistration of the input data and thereby enhance the effective vertical resolution of features. Combining those improvements with the geometric corrections and an increase in signal-to-noise ratio afforded by the 3D imaging process, this data product provides new details about the interior of Planum Boreum, the Martian north polar cap. We assess the overall characteristics and compare portions of the new 3D radargram to results from prior studies that used either the prior 3D radargram or sets of 2D radargrams from individual MRO orbits. We find that the new 3D radargram has recovered essentially all of the vertical resolution inherent to the input data, and the increased coverage density has substantially reduced artifacts while enabling much greater detail in the imaging of subsurface layering and structures. These improvements extend throughout the 3D radargram, from the basal units to the shallowest subsurface layering in Planum Boreum, and out into the surrounding plains. Subsurface features such as a buried chasma, other layering structures and unconformities, and trough-bounding surfaces that offset shallow layering are now visible in unprecedented detail. A thorough analysis of this new 3D radargram and its implications for the geologic and climate history of Planum Boreum will extend over many years.