ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the ground ice models for the distribution and evolution of curvilinear landforms on Mars. Estimates of the amount of water on Mars are derived from models for volatile distributions, outgassing history, and atmospheric evolution of the planet. The Martian curvilinear features have several types of topographic expression, including curvilinear ridges, arcuate troughs, and patterns with no obvious topography at all. The Martian curvilinear features are all located in the northern plains, north or west of the boundary separating the smooth plains and the cratered upland. The chapter describes the regional relationships among the curvilinear features, the plains/upland boundary, and other landforms that characterize this transitional zone. Curvilinear features occur in the smooth plains north of 47° N in Arcadia Planitia between 165° and 210° W, near the base of the regional slope. Models proposed in the past for the Martian curvilinear landforms have depended on analogs with terrestrial landforms.
