| Abstract: | To help answer the question of how much solid CO2 exists in the Martian south polar cap, we performed a series of laboratory triaxial deformation experiments at constant displacement rate in compression on jacketed cylinders of pure, polycrystalline CO2. Test conditions were temperatures 150 < T < 190 K, hydrostatic confining pressures 5 ??? P ??? 40 MPa, and strain rates 4.5 ?? 10-8 ??? ???? ??? 4.3 ?? 10-4 s-1. Most of the measurements follow a constitutive law of the form ???? = A??nexp(-Q/RT), where ?? is the applied differential stress, R is the gas constant, and the other constants have values as follows: A = 103.86 MPa-ns-1, n = 5.6, and Q = 33 kJ/mol. Solid CO2 is markedly weaker than water ice. Our results suggest that the south polar cap on Mars is unlikely to be predominately solid CO2, because the elevation and estimated age of the cap is difficult to reconcile with the very weak rheology of the material. Copyright 1999 by the American Geophysical Union. |
| Genre: | Article |
| ProdID: | 70021036 |
| Citation Author: | Durham, W. B.; Kirby, S. H.; Stem, L. A. |
| Citation Contributing Office: | |
| Citation Datum: | |
| Citation Day: | |
| Citation Edition: | |
| Citation Editor: | |
| Citation End Page: | 3496 |
| Citation Issue: | 23 |
| Citation Keywords: | |
| Citation Language: | English |
| Citation Larger Work Title: | Geophysical Research Letters |
| Citation LatN: | |
| Citation LatS: | |
| Citation LonE: | |
| Citation LonW: | |
| Citation Month: | |
| Citation No Pagination: | |
| Citation Number Of Pages: | 4 |
| Citation Online Only Flag: | |
| Citation Phsyical Description: | |
| Citation Projection: | |
| Citation Public Comments: | |
| Citation Publisher: | |
| Citation Series: | |
| Citation Series Code: | |
| Citation Series Number: | |
| Citation Search Results Text: | Steady-state flow of solid CO2: Preliminary results; 1999; Article; Journal; Geophysical Research Letters; Durham, W. B.; Kirby, S. H.; Stem, L. A. |
| Citation Start Page: | 3493 |
| Citation Volume: | 26 |
| Citation Year: | 1999 |
| Type: | citation/reference |
| Text: | Steady-state flow of solid CO2: Preliminary results; 1999; Article; Journal; Geophysical Research Letters; Durham, W. B.; Kirby, S. H.; Stem, L. A. |
| URL (THUMBNAIL): | http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/thumbnails/outside_thumb.jpg |
| Date Other: | Fri, 1 Jan 1999 00:00 -0600 |
| Publisher: | |
