Robert Lea is a science journalist in the U.K. whose articles have been published in Physics World, New Scientist, Astronomy Magazine, All About Space, Newsweek and ZME Science. He also writes about science communication for Elsevier and the European Journal of Physics. Rob holds a bachelor of science degree in physics and astronomy from the U.K.’s Open University. Follow him on Twitter @sciencef1rst.
to map the topography, or shape, of the upper surface of the ice cap, the researchers detected subtle patterns of height differences that matched computer model predictions for how a body of water beneath the ice cap would affect its surface.
This is because the water in subglacial lakes lowers the friction between an ice sheet and its bed, allowing the ice to flow faster under the influence of gravity. On the surface of the ice sheet, this change in speed is reflected by a dip in its surface followed by a rise in the ice surface further down the ice flow.
This feature consisted of a depression in the ice surface followed by a corresponding raised area, both deviating from the level of the surrounding ice cap area by several meters. This scale and shape resemble that of undulations in ice sheets above subglacial lakes found on Earth, the researchers said in the statement
They introduced into their computer model of a Martian ice sheet a patch of reduced bed friction where water would allow the ice flow to speed up. The researchers also adjusted the amount of geothermal heat in the simulation.
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