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HiPOD: Eroding Ice-Rich Deposits in Two Craters in Arabia Terra

This image shows two craters in the Arabia Terra region with interesting texture patterns on their floors. These textures are indicative of the presence of ice-rich materials, likely having been deposited from the atmosphere during periods of high obliquity (tilt) millions of years ago, when ice from the poles was mobilized and redeposited in the mid-latitudes.

The ice is gradually eroding away, leading to the interesting patterns displayed in the southern crater in the image. Although uncommon in shape, these erosional patterns are not inconsistent with ice sublimation as their formation mechanism. In the northern crater, ejecta deposits from the crater impacted on its western rim have intermingled with the floor deposits, leading to interesting textures there as well, indicating different types of geologic materials being introduced from the subsurface.

ID: ESP_092480_2160 date: 19 April 2026 altitude: 294 km

M.C. Escher | METAMORPHOSIS II (1940)