Understanding sub-surface and surface-atmosphere interaction processes on Mars from the last forty years of time-registered multi-angle orbital observ

Within the EU-FP7 iMars project, methods have been developed to automate the screening of high quality, high resolution (<<100m) images and subsequently co-register and terrain correct hundreds and thousands of these NASA images to a global base image map set based on ESA's HRSC stereo photogrammetric mapping images acquired over the last decade and longer. In the process, detailed three-dimensional models (Digital Terrain Models, DTMs) have been created of around half of the Martian surface. Using a similar automated co-registration approach, hyper-spectral images from instruments such as the NASA MRO CRISM can be co-registered to orthorectified CTX and HiRISE imagery. Finally, automated data mining techniques have been developed to "mark" features, which have changed over the last 40 years

This presents the possibility that for extensive areas of Mars, not only can we study the three-dimensional structure of these features but also interpret their composition. This study will exploit this unique resource to gain a deeper understanding of the Martian surface and subsurface looking particularly at features on the residual south polar cap (RSPC), such as so-called "Swiss cheese terrain", CO2 geysers and impact craters employing global images from the MARCI instrument to interpret synoptic-scale atmospheric activities and how these may be related to changes in the surface features. Laboratory activities are planned to support interpretation of the spectroscopic studies. Finally, the search for PAH signatures in hyperspectral CISM images will be employed to place a lower limit on the amount of PAH which might be present.