[Previous] | [Session 46] | [Next]
J.T. Eckberg (Montana State University)
Recent data acquired by the Mars Global Surveyor(MGS) magnetic field experiment/electron reflectometer(MAG/ER) has led to detailed maps of the paleomagnetic signature of Mars. These recent plots show a strong correlation between significant magnetic dipole moments and the southern highlands in addition to a lack of signature associated with the lowlands north of the dichotomy boundary. This lack of signature is suggestive of a mechanism that removed the magnetic structure in this region sometime after the cessation of the Martian dynamo in the early Noachian. This talk will discuss this dissipative mechanism, link it to the existence of a primordial ocean, and present results of mathematical modeling and computer simulation.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: eckberg@montana.edu