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The North Polar layered deposits provide a record of recent climate changes on Mars. Color variations between layers are due to differences in composition of the dust that contaminates the ice, and differences in surface textures and residual seasonal frost.

Enhanced colors can also accentuate the subtle variations.

This is a stereo pair with ESP_044982_2670.

The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.