Seeing below the surface of Mars
Lead Research Organisation:
The Open University
Department Name: Physical Sciences
Abstract
The four-year orbital mission of NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft will end in March 2015. In preparation for Europe's Mercury orbiter (BepiColombo), which will be launched in 2016, a co-ordinated effort is being mounted by the MESSENGER and BepiColombo teams to produce geological maps of the whole of Mercury using the best MESSENGER data available. The maps will provide very important contextual information for planning and interpreting BepiColombo data, and will replace the partial map coverage at 1:5M scale achieved using Mariner-10 data.
Mercury is divided into 15 mapping 'quadrangles' (including one at each pole), and the student on this project will be responsible for creating a geological map of one of these under the guidance of the supervision team. The allocation of quadrangles between groups is being negotiated and should become clear by early summer. However, every quadrangle has a wide range of features and a long and complex geological history making it an exciting region to study.
The student will compile a geological map in ArcGIS using MESSENGER narrow- and wide-angle-camera images supplemented by topographic, spectral and geochemical data, all of which will be available from NASA's Planetary Data System (pds.nasa.gov), and will co-ordinate with colleagues mapping adjacent quadrangles. Mapping will follow United States Geological Survey protocols and conventions agreed among the joint MESSENGER-BepiColombo geological mapping team, and the map will be published via USGS. Online digital publication facilitates the inclusion of multiple layers, so that (for example) this new generation of maps could have a chronostratigraphic version (surface units divided by age, such as smooth plains, intercrater plains, and so on) and a more innovative lithostratigraphic version (for example subdividing plains into spectral/geochemical types). Mercury is tectonically complex, and so the systems of isolated and linked faults will require careful attention.
Although a thorough quadrangle map will be the main product of this study, the intimate insight gained by close examination of any part of Mercury will offer plenty of opportunities for spin-off science. These could, for example, be geochemical, geomorphological, tectonic, related to space-weathering, or related to volatile processes, according to the student's interests. We would expect the student to present findings at meetings such as the annual Lunar & Planetary Science Conference (Houston) and the European Planetary Science Conference, and also to submit papers for publication in peer-reviewed journals.
The supervisors will train the student in ArcGIS and planetary geological mapping, in addition to which there will be opportunities to attend MESSENGER-BepiColombo mapping workshops in Europe and/or the USA. Experience of geological mapping in Earth would be an advantage.
Mercury is divided into 15 mapping 'quadrangles' (including one at each pole), and the student on this project will be responsible for creating a geological map of one of these under the guidance of the supervision team. The allocation of quadrangles between groups is being negotiated and should become clear by early summer. However, every quadrangle has a wide range of features and a long and complex geological history making it an exciting region to study.
The student will compile a geological map in ArcGIS using MESSENGER narrow- and wide-angle-camera images supplemented by topographic, spectral and geochemical data, all of which will be available from NASA's Planetary Data System (pds.nasa.gov), and will co-ordinate with colleagues mapping adjacent quadrangles. Mapping will follow United States Geological Survey protocols and conventions agreed among the joint MESSENGER-BepiColombo geological mapping team, and the map will be published via USGS. Online digital publication facilitates the inclusion of multiple layers, so that (for example) this new generation of maps could have a chronostratigraphic version (surface units divided by age, such as smooth plains, intercrater plains, and so on) and a more innovative lithostratigraphic version (for example subdividing plains into spectral/geochemical types). Mercury is tectonically complex, and so the systems of isolated and linked faults will require careful attention.
Although a thorough quadrangle map will be the main product of this study, the intimate insight gained by close examination of any part of Mercury will offer plenty of opportunities for spin-off science. These could, for example, be geochemical, geomorphological, tectonic, related to space-weathering, or related to volatile processes, according to the student's interests. We would expect the student to present findings at meetings such as the annual Lunar & Planetary Science Conference (Houston) and the European Planetary Science Conference, and also to submit papers for publication in peer-reviewed journals.
The supervisors will train the student in ArcGIS and planetary geological mapping, in addition to which there will be opportunities to attend MESSENGER-BepiColombo mapping workshops in Europe and/or the USA. Experience of geological mapping in Earth would be an advantage.
Organisations
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ST/N50421X/1 | 01/10/2015 | 31/03/2021 | |||
| 1653412 | Studentship | ST/N50421X/1 | 01/10/2015 | 31/03/2019 | Hannah Chinnery |
| Description | The penetration depth of broad spectrum solar radiation (300 nm - 1100 nm) in ices relevant to Mars has been measured in the laboratory for the first time. These ices include carbon dioxide and water ices in the form of slab ice, ice of controlled grain sizes, and snow. All of these ice morphologies are observed on the surface of Mars today, and whilst some measurements of water ice have been made for terrestrial applications, many of these cannot be directly compared to carbon dioxide ice because of factors such as impurities in naturally occurring ice, or measurements covering only a narrow spectral range. The results generated show that the penetration depth varies with both grain size and ice composition. Grain size (due to light scattering) is the dominant parameter at particle radii applicable to snow, and composition (therefore material-specific optical properties) dominates in larger grains and slab ice. An empirical model has been determined, which can be used to predict penetration depth of a specific grain size and composition of ice. This has important applications for modelling surface processes on Mars, many of which have no terrestrial analogue. Relevant features include araneiforms (colloquially known as 'spider formations'), observed only in association with the seasonal carbon dioxide slab ice, or gullies, which vary in morphology depending on location, indicating varying formation mechanisms. By using more accurate penetration depths for ices on the Martian surface, radiative transfer models describing surface-atmosphere interactions could better simulate these formation processes. |
| Exploitation Route | These results can be used to model ice-related surface processes on Mars. Further to this, they can be applied to modelling other icy bodies in the solar system, such as icy moons and comets, and the measurements in water ices are relevant to polar and glacial environments on Earth. Future work to expand on this thesis would involve determining the effect of impurities on the e-folding scale of CO2 ice as Mars's seasonal polar caps contain <0.1% dust. Moreover, measuring the penetration depth in other extra-terrestrial ices would be benefit studies of comets and icy moons. |
| Sectors | Environment,Other |
| Description | Europlanet EPSC travel bursary 2017 |
| Amount | € 300 (EUR) |
| Organisation | Europlanet |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | France |
| Start | 09/2017 |
| End | 09/2017 |
| Title | Light intensity measurements for granular water and carbon dioxide ices |
| Description | Data from light penetration measurements in water and carbon dioxide ices based on grain size, from which the penetration depth, or e-folding scale, has been calculated and reported on in a manuscript currently under review in JGR: Planets |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | An empirical model has been determined from this data to relate the penetration depth of broad spectrum solar radiation with both ice composition and grain size. This could have implications for our understanding of ice-related processes occurring on the Martian surface. |
| URL | https://ordo.open.ac.uk/articles/Data_for_Granular_Ice_Light_Intensity_Measurements_docx/9896084/1 |
| Description | Astro-commander for SmashfestUK |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Led practical activities with school children ages 11-16 about space missions and general issues associated with it |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Careers Day at Chancellor's School |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | 90 students attended the interactive session showcasing my previous and current work and different pathways which can be taken to get to a range of STEM careers |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Departmental Open Day |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Departmental open day, during which I gave tours at the lab I use, explaining my experiments and those of my research group. This was done in person, and also as a Facebook live video stream. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Guest lecture at Kimberly College (6th form college) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to give a guest lecture to 6th form science students at Kimberly College. Around 40 students attended, alongside several members of staff. The purpose was to broaden the perceptions of students as to what research is ongoing in space related science, and helping demonstrate possible future career progression for them. I gave an overview of current Mars exploration, and then reported some of my findings and their implications. The college gave very positive feedback from this. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Moon Night at The Open University |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Moon Night is an open evening hosted by the Open University which is free and open to the public, and includes a wide range of activities, presentations and interactive demonstrations based on anything to do with studying the moon and other planetary bodies. around 200 people attended, including school children, parents, grandparents and interested members of the public. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Physics event for The Ogden Trust |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | This involved my giving a talk to a GCSE class about Mars in general, followed by an overview of my work and its implications. This was followed in the evening by an event for pupils and parents, promoting Physics as a subject to study at higher education level, giving a brief overview of my work as a demonstration of what you can do with qualifications in physics. This involved several other participants from a range of industries, all of whom hold qualifications in physics of some kind. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |