• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Space / What Are the Ice Caps On the Planet Mars Made of and What Happens When the Ice Caps On Mars Melt?

What Are the Ice Caps On the Planet Mars Made of and What Happens When the Ice Caps On Mars Melt?

March 23, 2020 by Karen Hill

The northern ice cap is permanently frozen water covered by frozen carbon dioxide (dry ice), which solidifies from the atmosphere at cold temperatures.

During summer in the north, the ice cap shrinks, as some of the carbon dioxide reverts to gas in the atmosphere.

In the winter, it grows much larger again.

The ice cap in the southern hemisphere is almost all frozen carbon dioxide.

It also grows and shrinks seasonally, but to a greater extent than the northern cap, as the carbon dioxide solidifies and then vaporizes.

Related Facts

  • History of Ice Cream
  • What is Dry Ice Made of and Why Does Dry Ice Produce Smoke?
  • How Can Radiocarbon Dating Tell Us How Old Anything Is?
  • What is the Best Way to Keep Soda Pop From Going Flat?
  • What Effect Does Summer Have On Mars and How Do the Ice Caps Cause Dust Storms On the Planet Mars?
  • What is the Difference Between Carbon Monoxide and Carbon Dioxide?

Filed Under: Space

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « How Much Water Is There On Mars and What Are the Most Prominent Features on the Surface of the Planet Mars?
Next Post: How Hot Is Mars and Why Does the Surface Temperature On the Planet Mars Vary So Much? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy