Accumulation of windblown sand in impact craters on Mars

Abstract Loose sand, blown away from source regions by winds, is transported across Mars's surface into sand sheets and dunes accumulates within topographic sinks. In the absence of plate tectonics, impact craters constitute a dominant sink for windblown sediments on Mars today. We analyzed volume all mapped eolian sands in martian >1 km diameter to reveal spatiotemporal patterns sediment accumulation planet's surface. combined our results with global climate simulations, maps depth ice table dust cover, as well lithologic age information underlying geologic units, better understand controls intracrater rates. find that crater age, latitude, lithology influence rate and, notably, it enhanced mechanically weaker substrates, high-latitude (suggesting modern cryogenic processes may enhance production), Late Noachian Early Hesperian (possibly hinting at increased erosion rates time).