Surface Processes and Thermophysical Investigations
Much of Mars' younger terrain is inaccessible to landers and rovers, requiring creative use of orbital data to understand its surface. Our study focuses on volcanic regions from Arsia Mons to Daedalia Planum, where dust cover obscures key features. Using off-nadir thermal infrared (TIR) data from Mars Odyssey, combined with the KRC thermal model and thermal inertia mapping, we predict surface temperatures and quantify submeter-scale roughness—revealing compositional diversity and surface processes hidden beneath the dust.
Key Results
Brightness Temperature (ΔBT) and Surface Roughness
Large positive or negative ΔBT values correspond to rougher terrain; values near zero indicate smoother surfaces.
Off-nadir observations (e.g., −25°) enhance sub-pixel shadowing, amplifying ΔBT deviations between observed and modeled temperatures.
Model-data comparisons show a positive slope in ΔBT density plots, with the model underpredicting temperatures for negative ΔBT and overpredicting at positive ΔBT.
Lava Flow Morphology
Central lava channels are smoother and warmer, showing lower ΔBT values, while rougher lateral levees and flow breakouts exhibit higher ΔBT.
ΔBT imagery highlights younger flows (magenta hues) as rougher and less dust-covered; older, smoother flows appear more dust-mantled (blues/greens).
This work highlights how innovative observation strategies during extended mission phases can reveal new insights into planetary surface processes. By integrating orbital temperature data, multi-angle observations, and thermophysical modeling, we’ve advanced the study of Martian volcanology and established a framework for future analyses using THEMIS ROTO data—enabling more nuanced interpretations of Mars’ dynamic volcanic terrains.
Read the full article here: Brightness Temperature Variations and Anisothermality of Lava Flows near Arsia Mons
New Insights into Amazonian Ice-Related Processes on Mars
To read more about my work:
The Sub-Meter Surface Roughness of Martian Basaltic Lava Flows
This December, our team published Polythermal Glacial Landforms in Acidalia Planitia Reveal Amazonian Ice-Related Processes on Mars in Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets (10.1029/2025JE009465). The study uses geomorphology, thermal infrared data, and spectral analysis to show that parts of Bonestell Crater and a nearby unnamed crater preserve convincing evidence of past ice-rich activity during Mars’ Amazonian period, an era traditionally thought to have been cold and hyper-arid.
Key Results
Thermal inertia values vary systematically across the study region, distinguishing fine-grained, unconsolidated materials from more indurated or ice-cemented deposits.
Intermediate to high thermal inertia surfaces cluster along lobate flow features and alcove margins, consistent with debris-covered glacial ice or compacted materials.
Lower thermal inertia terrains correspond to mantled, dust-rich surfaces, suggesting either degradation of icy deposits or burial by later sediment
These transitions align with geomorphic boundaries, strengthening the interpretation that the mapped lobes and alcoves reflect polythermal glacial processes rather than simple mass wasting. The spatial coherence of thermophysical variations supports a model in which debris-covered ice persisted into the Amazonian, modifying the landscape long after major climatic transitions.
This work highlights how orbital thermophysical datasets, when integrated with geomorphology, can resolve subtle glacial signatures in terrains otherwise inaccessible to in-situ exploration. By leveraging multi-parameter THEMIS analysis, we provide new constraints on the distribution, preservation state, and surface expression of mid-latitude ice on Mars. Viewed together, these features suggest that Amazonian ice was not only present but expressed in multiple glacial and periglacial forms, implying episodic climate conditions capable of transient melting and surface modification (even in a mostly cold and dry epoch). This challenges simple views of Amazonian Mars and opens new questions about mid-latitude ice dynamics and obscure pockets of past habitable conditions.
Read the full article here: Polythermal Glacial Landforms in Acidalia Planitia Reveal Amazonian Ice-Related Processes on Mars (JGR Planets).