Properties of Seasonal Ice at Sisyphi Cavi and Implications for Current Modification of Martian Gullies
Abstract
Martian gullies are geologically recent landforms that may form either through liquid-water activity and/or through processes involving CO2 ice. We investigated the mechanisms responsible for the formation or modification of these features by focusing on the active site of Sisyphi Cavi (68°S, 1°E), located outside the typical latitude range of gully presence. Using CRISM and OMEGA infrared data, we characterized the composition and physical state of seasonal surface ices to test the relevance of H2O and CO2 ice driven mechanisms. Our analysis shows that H2O ice is not detected as an independent surface deposit, although it may be present as minor inclusions within the CO2 ice layer. In particular, during the final phase of CO2 ice sublimation in late spring, no H2O ice signature is observed. In the area, faint spectral signatures of sulfate salts are observed, but their distribution and amount do not suggest any direct link with gully activity. Available observations during early and mid-spring reveal that CO2 ice is translucent during these times, suggesting that it likely remains in this state through most of the ice season. However, a temporal mismatch between dark spot formation - indicative of CO2 geysers through translucent ice - and gully modification (respectively occurring late winter to early spring, and mid to late spring) exists. This does not suggest a systematic link between both processes. Overall, the available observations provide no evidence that liquid water contributes to present-day gully activity at Sisyphi Cavi, while offering no support either for the hypothesis that gully modifications are mainly driven by the formation of CO2 geysers. Gully modifications at Sisyphi Cavi, observed during the late sublimation stages of CO2 ice, may be rather more appropriately explained by CO2-ice-based fluidization or avalanche processes.
Versions
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BibTeX
@misc{leclef2026properties,
title = {{Properties of Seasonal Ice at Sisyphi Cavi and Implications for Current Modification of Martian Gullies}},
author = {Apolline Leclef and Mathieu Vincendon and Cateline Lantz and François Andrieu and Marie Ausseresse and John Carter and Susan J. Conway and Marion Massé and Kelly Pasquon and Frédéric Schmidt},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.03885},
eprint = {2609.03885},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.03885},
note = {CC BY-NC-SA 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Properties of Seasonal Ice at Sisyphi Cavi and Implications for Current Modification of Martian Gullies
AU - Apolline Leclef
AU - Mathieu Vincendon
AU - Cateline Lantz
AU - François Andrieu
AU - Marie Ausseresse
AU - John Carter
AU - Susan J. Conway
AU - Marion Massé
AU - Kelly Pasquon
AU - Frédéric Schmidt
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/03
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.03885
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.03885
AB - Martian gullies are geologically recent landforms that may form either through liquid-water activity and/or through processes involving CO2 ice. We investigated the mechanisms responsible for the formation or modification of these features by focusing on the active site of Sisyphi Cavi (68°S, 1°E), located outside the typical latitude range of gully presence. Using CRISM and OMEGA infrared data, we characterized the composition and physical state of seasonal surface ices to test the relevance of H2O and CO2 ice driven mechanisms. Our analysis shows that H2O ice is not detected as an independent surface deposit, although it may be present as minor inclusions within the CO2 ice layer. In particular, during the final phase of CO2 ice sublimation in late spring, no H2O ice signature is observed. In the area, faint spectral signatures of sulfate salts are observed, but their distribution and amount do not suggest any direct link with gully activity. Available observations during early and mid-spring reveal that CO2 ice is translucent during these times, suggesting that it likely remains in this state through most of the ice season. However, a temporal mismatch between dark spot formation - indicative of CO2 geysers through translucent ice - and gully modification (respectively occurring late winter to early spring, and mid to late spring) exists. This does not suggest a systematic link between both processes. Overall, the available observations provide no evidence that liquid water contributes to present-day gully activity at Sisyphi Cavi, while offering no support either for the hypothesis that gully modifications are mainly driven by the formation of CO2 geysers. Gully modifications at Sisyphi Cavi, observed during the late sublimation stages of CO2 ice, may be rather more appropriately explained by CO2-ice-based fluidization or avalanche processes.
ER -