A new geomorphic marker for the study of debris-covered glaciers on Mars

A new geomorphic marker for the study of debris-covered glaciers on Mars | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article A new geomorphic marker for the study of debris-covered glaciers on Mars Léo Scordia, Susan Conway, Andreas Johnsson, Noé Le Becq, Cynthia Sassenroth, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8435923/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Mars hosts thousands of debris-covered glaciers across its mid-latitudes, containing the second-largest known reservoir of water ice on the planet. These glaciers are key targets for future in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) and preserve a record of climate conditions over the last billion years. However, the inventory is incomplete and our knowledge of their ages and dynamics is limited. Here, we report on the discovery of a widespread landform that results from the interaction of crater ejecta with these glaciers – Crater-Associated Irregular Cellular Structures (CAICS). Because they indicate an underlying glacier, their recognition enables the expansion of the inventory of glaciers on Mars by >50%. CAICS have formed on glacial surfaces throughout martian history so, dating ejecta outside the glacier provides the first reliable estimates of episodes of ice-deposition and glacier motion, enabling improved Amazonian climate reconstruction. As CAICS form via an interaction between ejecta and ice, future modelling should provide constraints on the composition and structure of the underlying glacier – important for ISRU. Finally, the analogue with Veiki moraines and ice-walled-lake plains which are formed in connection with liquid water and ice on Earth, opens up the possibility that CAICS may be an indicator for habitable glacial environments. Earth and environmental sciences/Planetary science/Geomorphology Earth and environmental sciences/Planetary science/Cryospheric science Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files CAICSproducingCratersNorthernHemispheredatasetScordia2025.csv Dataset 1 Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8435923","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":573521254,"identity":"ac61e7bb-5943-4234-ac11-df3de3bd53ca","order_by":0,"name":"Léo Scordia","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA5ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACPijN2MbAfPABkMHDh0c1GLAhtLAlG4C0sOFTjqKlgYHHTAJZBLcW9ubDH35U3JPtYz9gVvk1x06GjYH54aMb+LTwHEuT7DlTbNzGk5B2W3ZbMtBhbMbGOfi0SOSYMTO2JSS2MSQcuy25jRmohYdNGq8W+TfGn8Fa+B+2FUtuqydCiwSPgTRYi0QyG+PHbYeJ0MKTBvJLgnGbxDNmacZtx3nYmAn4hZ/9MCjEEmTn9+d//PhzW7U9P3vzw8f4tKAAZh4wSaxyEGD8QYrqUTAKRsEoGDEAAJnxQCC0f297AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0003-9805-5930","institution":"Nantes Université, Univ Angers, Le Mans Université, CNRS, Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géosciences, LPG UMR 6112","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Léo","middleName":"","lastName":"Scordia","suffix":""},{"id":573521255,"identity":"aec1a8c3-0c2f-4938-9e95-62227771fbf5","order_by":1,"name":"Susan Conway","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0577-2312","institution":"CNRS, University Nantes, France","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Susan","middleName":"","lastName":"Conway","suffix":""},{"id":573521256,"identity":"a11680c6-4b93-4ed8-9c93-31dcd40282d9","order_by":2,"name":"Andreas Johnsson","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6743-918X","institution":"University of Gothenburg","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Andreas","middleName":"","lastName":"Johnsson","suffix":""},{"id":573521257,"identity":"bde78e68-58af-4475-9839-73cb330f3592","order_by":3,"name":"Noé Le Becq","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1722-585X","institution":"Nantes Université, Univ Angers, Le Mans Université, CNRS, Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géosciences, LPG UMR 6112","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Noé","middleName":"Le","lastName":"Becq","suffix":""},{"id":573521258,"identity":"644486f7-b4bf-47e0-8c4b-a48ce22b8417","order_by":4,"name":"Cynthia Sassenroth","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Department of Earth Sciences, University of Gothenburg","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Cynthia","middleName":"","lastName":"Sassenroth","suffix":""},{"id":573521259,"identity":"0f523935-582b-4e8b-ba60-3b772a7bc577","order_by":5,"name":"Jakob Heyman","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Gothenburg","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jakob","middleName":"","lastName":"Heyman","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-12-23 16:50:49","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8435923/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8435923/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":103504338,"identity":"d3fc1e17-22e0-40a8-b404-0c8af76a4e5d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-26 13:19:20","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":20122819,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Article File","description":"","filename":"Scordiaetal2025NatureGeoArticleSubmission.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8435923/v1_covered_1823b12e-67fe-45b5-9d2f-5d4236982cbf.pdf"},{"id":100415957,"identity":"9daa78e2-d12e-4a80-9a6a-d4fff3beb9e7","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-16 13:22:45","extension":"csv","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":31791,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Dataset 1","description":"","filename":"CAICSproducingCratersNorthernHemispheredatasetScordia2025.csv","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8435923/v1/628b8ba498180caef0c86bd3.csv"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"A new geomorphic marker for the study of debris-covered glaciers on Mars","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":true,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8435923/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8435923/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Mars hosts thousands of debris-covered glaciers across its mid-latitudes, containing the second-largest known reservoir of water ice on the planet. These glaciers are key targets for future in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) and preserve a record of climate conditions over the last billion years. However, the inventory is incomplete and our knowledge of their ages and dynamics is limited. Here, we report on the discovery of a widespread landform that results from the interaction of crater ejecta with these glaciers – Crater-Associated Irregular Cellular Structures (CAICS). Because they indicate an underlying glacier, their recognition enables the expansion of the inventory of glaciers on Mars by \u003e50%. CAICS have formed on glacial surfaces throughout martian history so, dating ejecta outside the glacier provides the first reliable estimates of episodes of ice-deposition and glacier motion, enabling improved Amazonian climate reconstruction. As CAICS form via an interaction between ejecta and ice, future modelling should provide constraints on the composition and structure of the underlying glacier – important for ISRU. Finally, the analogue with Veiki moraines and ice-walled-lake plains which are formed in connection with liquid water and ice on Earth, opens up the possibility that CAICS may be an indicator for habitable glacial environments.","manuscriptTitle":"A new geomorphic marker for the study of debris-covered glaciers on Mars","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-01-16 11:58:10","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8435923/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"b17176b3-9cb0-412d-b684-448383f9a2a2","owner":[],"postedDate":"January 16th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":61024468,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Planetary science/Geomorphology"},{"id":61024469,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Planetary science/Cryospheric science"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-02-20T22:45:19+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-01-16 11:58:10","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8435923","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8435923","identity":"rs-8435923","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}