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Nature 438, E10 (8 December 2005) | doi:10.1038/nature04358; Published online 7 December 2005

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Planetary science: Are there active glaciers on Mars? (Reply)

J. W. Head1, G. Neukum, R. Jaumann, H. Hiesinger, E. Hauber, M. Carr, P. Masson, B. Foing, H. Hoffmann, M. Kreslavsky, S. Werner, S. Milkovich, S. van Gasselt & The HRSC Co-Investigator Team

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Gillespie et al.1 concur with our interpretation that certain lobate equatorial and mid-latitude features on Mars are due to debris-covered glaciers formed largely during past periods of increased spin-axis obliquity, when climate regimes favoured snow and ice accumulation and glacial flow2. They suggest that the 'hourglass' deposit, dated at more than 40 Myr old2, could be active today owing to an additional mechanism that supports "local augmentation of accumulation from snowfall" without climate change on Mars. This mechanism requires the present, or very recent, release of groundwater to the surface to form aufeis (groundwater-fed 'glaciers') where the groundwater is generated by dewatering of hydrous compounds or melting by magmatic or impact-generated heat. We assess whether this suggestion applies to the deposits in question — it was previously proposed for much older deposits in other areas of Mars3, 4. We make particular reference to the key relationships in the accumulation zones.

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