Articles | Volume 14, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-14-1-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-14-1-2026
Research article
 | 
12 Jan 2026
Research article |  | 12 Jan 2026

Cirque-like alcoves in the northern mid-latitudes of Mars as evidence of glacial erosion

An Y. Li, Michelle R. Koutnik, Stephen Brough, Matteo Spagnolo, and Iestyn Barr

Data sets

Cirque-like alcoves in the northern mid-latitudes of Mars as evidence of glacial erosion An Li et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17527279

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Short summary
Many alcoves on Mars resemble glacial cirques on Earth. While some contain glacier-like forms, many do not, and they have never been studied at a large scale. We mapped ~2,000 alcoves in Deuteronilus Mensae and identified 435 as "cirque-like."  These show geomorphic signs of past glaciation and mainly face south–southeast, implying ice accumulation during high obliquity. Further research is needed to confirm the style of glaciation as either warm-based or cold-based. 
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