Assessing Radar Attenuation in RIMFAX Soundings at the Jezero Western Fan Front, Mars

Abstract

Estimates of radar attenuation in the shallow Martian subsurface are retrieved from RIMFAX soundings along the Perseverance rover traverse. Specifically, analyzed data is from the Hawksbill Gap area during the rover's first drives onto the Jezero Western Fan Front. The centroid frequency-shift method is employed to quantify attenuation in terms of the constant-Q approximation. Results are then compared with the amplitude decay method, which—in order to calculate attenuation—requires propagation velocities retrieved from radargram analysis. By verifying that results from two separate analyses are consistent, we ensure that quantified radar properties are well constrained. First estimate of constant-Q is 78.8 ± 11.6. For a subsurface propagation velocity of 0.113 m/ns, that equals an attenuation of −2.1 ± 0.4 dB/m at the RIMFAX 675 MHz center frequency. Results are consistent with dry sedimentary rocks, and are distinguishable from the magmatic lithologies on Jezero Crater Floor.