Controls on the spacing and size of Martian polar dunes from a buried ice table

Many barchan dune corridors appear to contain dunes of stable size and spacing [1], and dune fields often exhibit regular patterns [2, 3] with apparent characteristic size and spacing (figure 1). It is still an open question as to what sets this characteristic scaling – local conditions such as topography or sand supply, or common dynamic processes such as those relating to saltation. Additionally, it is unknown whether the characteristic scaling is dependent on the initial dune size and spacing or on environmental conditions and dune interactions that vary in time and/or space.