Mercury: can any ice exist at subpolar regions? Original Research Article

The heat transfer in a regolith subsurface layer of thickness 20 m has been theoretically simulated for the areas near Mercuryʹs north pole aiming at the clarification of the possible existence of subsurface ice formations of different form. The paper considers different models of the icy regolith structure and composition: pure uniform amorphous ice; a porous dispersive system with ice-filled pores and voids; permafrost. For comparison the heat transfer in dry iceless regolith has been considered as well. It has been shown that the line of maximum distribution of subsurface icy formations depends on the icy regolith model, but for any one in the “hot” regions it does not go below 70°. For the “cool” regions this line has been shown to go from 5° to 10° southward than that for the “hot” ones. The possible thickness of icy regolith near the pole has been estimated for different models assuming an interior heat flow of 15 mW m−2. It has been shown that the maximum thickness of this layer takes place at the pole and is equal to 10 km for any model.