Martian Wolf
What Is Happening To Mars' Polar Ice Caps?
Published 31st August 2019
Are the ice caps on Mars melting? What the Mars' ice caps made up of? And what is happening to them?
In this video, we discuss Mars polar ice caps. We begin by talking about what they are made up of, primarily being dry ice and water ice. Something unique about Mars is that Carbon dioxide can exist as both a gas and a solid on Mars, so we look at the science behind why that is. Then, we consider what is happening to the ice caps, and see that they sublimate (go from solid to gas) as the polar region heats up. So during the winter, the ice caps grow in size, and as spring and summer begin, the dry ice sublimates and leaves behind mostly water ice. This cycle plays a large role in the climate of Mars because a majority of the Martian atmosphere is made up of carbon dioxide.
This process is very fascinating and tells us why the ice caps on Mars appear to change so much throughout a Martian year.





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