Water ice concentration and distribution in the Martian south polar layered deposits constrained by the lateral variations of their bulk density

This dataset provides density and compositional maps of the Martian South Polar Layered Deposits (SPLD), derived from a three-constituent inversion model based on gravity and topography data. The model estimates fractional volumes of water ice (H₂O), carbon dioxide ice (CO₂), and dust, allowing for the characterization of the SPLD internal structure.

The dataset includes:

• Gridded maps of lateral density variations across the SPLD.

• Estimated volumetric fractions of H₂O ice, CO₂ ice, and dust.

• Supporting inversion outputs used to constrain the spatial distribution of the three constituents.

Key findings supported by this dataset

• At least 80.5 % of the SPLD area contains a water ice volume fraction ≥ 50 %.

• The estimated total water ice volume ranges between 1.0 × 10⁶ and 1.3 × 10⁶ km³, corresponding to ~60–80 % of the SPLD total volume.

Citation
Please cite as:
Genova, A., et al. (2024). Water ice concentration in the Martian South Polar Layered Deposits. Icarus, 414, 160251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2024.116025

Keywords
Mars, South Polar Layered Deposits, water ice, density, inversion, planetary geophysics