The Aeolian Environment of the Landing Site for the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin Rover in Oxia Planum, Mars

Aeolian features at Oxia Planum ? the 2023 landing site for ExoMars Rosalind Franklin Rover (ERFR) are important Mars exploration because they record information about past and current wind regimes, sand transport vectors, lend insight to abrasion, deposition, of granular material. To characterize regime erosional history we used a combination manual observational machine?learning techniques analyze morphometrics, distribution, orientation 10,753 aeolian bedforms (Transverse Ridges; TARs) landforms (Periodic Bedrock PBRs) around ERFR ellipses. We found that, irrespective scale TARs, crestline azimuths consistent across study area infer that bedform forming winds blew from NW?NNW towards SE?SSE. PBR show substantively different bedforms, necessary abrade PBRs had N?NNE or S?SSE (180° ambiguity). From observations active dust devils windstreaks repeat imagery, W?WNW E?ESE ambiguity) dominates today. Finally, compare inferred direction results landscape modelled data GCMs. note despite evidence contrary, contemporary lacks directionality be responsible in Planum. These will encounter suggests multiple regimes have influenced surficial expression site.