Viewing lobate patterns on Mars and Earth as climate modulated fluid-like instabilities

Abstract

Lobate features found on high-latitude slopes on Mars resemble terrestrial cold-climate soil patterns known as solifluction lobes. Whether this provides evidence of freeze thaw processes on Mars or pattern equifinality is up for debate. Guided by recently developed theory for solifluction pattern formation inspired by fluid instabilities, here we compare HiRISE imagery of Martian lobes with a large dataset of solifluction lobes on Earth and find that they exhibit similar morphologic scaling. Our data show that Martian lobes are roughly 2.6 times taller than their Earth counterparts, indicative of lobe height set by cohesive soil strength under different gravitational conditions. We also explore possible climate controls on Martian lobe morphology using elevation, aspect, and temperature data. Our work suggests mechanistic similarities between lobate patterns on Earth and Mars that point toward icy origins for these features, with implications for our understanding of climate controls on Martian surface processes.