2020 - 2021 session

The University lecture rooms remain closed, and so the following meetings

will be held via video using the  Zoom system

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13th July: Dr Adam Hepburn (Dept of Geology, Durham University)

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Polyphase glaciation on Mars

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Mars today is an extremely cold, dry, and dusty planet, inhospitable to life and (insofar as we know) inhabited only by rovers. Exposed water on the surface at sub-polar latitudes would rapidly sublimate. However, a striking series of features are found throughout the mid-latitudes of Mars that are strongly suggestive of gravity driven viscous deformation. Radar interrogation indicates these viscous flow features, or VFFs, comprise nearly pure water-ice 100’s of metres thick capped by a relatively thin layer of debris. The presence of VFFs---analogous to debris covered glaciers on Earth---indicates that Mars’s climate has changed radically over time. Further, their thick ice may provide a refuge for microbial life and may also represent an accessible water resource for future human exploration. Understanding the glacial history of Mars, as indicated by VFFs, is therefore critical. In this talk, we will explore some of my PhD work seeking to establish the spatio-temporal expression of glaciers on Mars.

 

- invitation to this zoom talk has been sent via email to WEGA members

 

 

 

 

 

Please login into the zoom system between 7 and 7.25 pm, as once the lecture starts it is difficult for Judy to keep track of the talk, waiting room and zoom messages.

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Other dates yet to be confirmed

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WEGA members will be emailed with the invitation to each of these zoom meetings separately