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Ablation Hollow (Mars)

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms

  • 199 Accesses

Definition

A closed depression inferred to be carved by melting or sublimation of ice from an ice-bearing unit.

Category

A type of sublimation landform.

Synonyms

Ablation polygon; Cottage cheese terrain (Mars); Suncup

Note

This entry is about non-terrestrial ablation hollows.

Description

Closely spaced depressions with similar shapes, in the residual polar cap of Mars producing a gentle hummocky pitted surface (Fisher et al. 2002). This terrain displays a rough topography of pits, cracks, and some knobs (Thomas et al. 2000). Pits joined in roughly linear strings or depressions with preferential direction form lineations (Fisher et al. 2002).

Morphometry

From millimeter to tens of kilometers in width, from millimeter to hundreds of meters in depth. Pits studied by Fisher et al. (2002) in the northern ice cap of Mars are tens of meters wide and 1–2 m deep (Fisher et al. 2002).

Subtypes

  1. (1)

    Ablation hollows (pitted terrain) on snow/frost/ice covered terrain.

    1. (1.1)...

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References

  • Britt DT, Boice DC, Buratti BJ, Campins H, Nelson RM (2004) The morphology and surface processes of Comet 19/P Borrelly. Icarus 167:45–53. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2003.09.004

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  • Fisher DA, Winebrenner DP, Stern H (2002) Lineations on the “white” accumulation areas of the residual northern ice cap of Mars: their relation to the “accublation” and ice flow hypothesis. Icarus 159(1):39–52

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  • Mangold N (2011) Ice sublimation as a geomorphic process: a planetary perspective. Geomorphology 126:1–17

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  • Milkovich SM, Head JW III (2006) Surface textures of Mars’ north polar layered deposits: a framework for interpretation and future exploration. Mars 2:21–45. doi:10.1555/mars.2006.0003

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  • Rhodes JJ, Armstrong RL, Warren SG (1987) Mode of formation of “ablation hollows” controlled by dirt content of snow. J Glaciol 33(114):135–139

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  • Thomas PC, Malin MC, Edgett KS, Carr MH, Hartmann WK, Ingersoll AP, James PB, Soderblom LA, Veverka J, Sullivan R (2000) North-south geological differences between the residual polar caps on Mars. Nature 404:161–164

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique de Nantes, Université de Nantes/CNRS, Nantes, France

    Nicolas Mangold

  2. NASA Ames Research Center/NPP, Moffett Field, CA, 94035, USA

    Henrik Hargitai

Authors
  1. Nicolas Mangold
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  2. Henrik Hargitai
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nicolas Mangold .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. NASA Ames Research Center/NPP, Moffett Field, CA, USA

    Henrik Hargitai

  2. Konkoly Thege Miklos Astronomical Institute, Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Budapest, Hungary

    Ákos Kereszturi

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Mangold, N., Hargitai, H. (2015). Ablation Hollow (Mars). In: Hargitai, H., Kereszturi, Á. (eds) Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3134-3_1

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