|
This is a pole-to-pole view of Martian topography from the first MOLA global topographic model. The slice runs from the north pole (left) to the south pole (right) along the 0 degrees longitude line. The figure highlights the pole-to-pole slope of 0.036 degrees, such that the south pole has a higher elevation than the north pole by ~6 km. This global-scale slope was likely present for most of Mars' history and controlled the surface and subsurface transport of water indicated by images of outflow channels and valley networks. The regional high (in orange) in mid-southern hemisphere latitudes corresponds to the western edge of the topographic annulus that encircles the massive Hellas impact basin. In the figure warm colors correspond to high elevations and cold colors correspond to low elevations. Note the exceedingly flat northern hemisphere in blue.
|
