The formation mechanisms for mid-latitude ice scarps on Mars

Mid-latitude exposed ice scarps have recently been identified on Mars (Dundas et al., 2018, Dundas et al., 2021). The presence of such surface ice exposures at relatively low latitudes was itself a mystery, and the evolutionary dynamics of such scarps have also not been explained. In this work, we model the ice ablation rates of several identified mid-latitude scarps. We find that, given certain characteristics of their geographic setting, the orientation and growth of the scarps can be explained by energy balance models.