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Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms pp 1–14Cite as

Polar Layered Deposits

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Definition

Sedimentary polar unit on Mars, characterized by thin layering and inferred as mostly composed of water ice and fine sediments.

Synonyms

Laminated terrains (obsolete); Polar layered terrains (unusual)

Description

PLDs are characterized by subhorizontal layers that can be continuous over hundreds or thousands of kilometers, suggesting that the sedimentary process worked on regional scale. Their individual layers differ from each other in their albedo (layers are different in the intensity of reflected light, particularly marked in NPLD), surface morphology, and erosional texture (layers show important differences produced by selective erosion and/or depositional mechanisms, particularly marked in SPLD) (e.g., Byrne and Ivanov 2004; Milkovich and Plaut 2008; Byrne 2009; Fishbaugh et al. 2010; Guallini 2012; Fig. 1). However, it is to be considered that the appearance of PLDs by remote sensing is strongly influenced by the illumination angle, the younger mantling dust...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio di Telerilevamento e Planetologia, DiSPUTER, Universitá d’Annunzio, Via dei Vestini 31, Chieti Scalo, 66100, Italy

    Luca Guallini

  2. IRSPS, Universitá d’Annunzio, Viale Pindaro 42, PEscara, 65127, Italy

    Luca Guallini

Authors
  1. Luca Guallini
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  2. Stefano Nerozzi
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Correspondence to Luca Guallini .

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Guallini, L., Nerozzi, S. (2014). Polar Layered Deposits. In: Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_281-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_281-1

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  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-9213-9

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Polar Layered Deposits
    Published:
    23 December 2014

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_281-2

  2. Original

    Polar Layered Deposits
    Published:
    08 August 2014

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_281-1

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