Dune-Yardang Interactions in Becquerel Crater, Mars.

The Physics of Sand Dune Formation and Migration on Mars

Sand dunes have been observed throughout the surface of the planet Mars. Movement of these dunes has been theorized and inferred from the lack of craters on dunes. Dune movement has not yet been directly imaged, however. Understanding sand movement processes is vital to a correct Martian climate model, as well as the safety of future missions to Mars. Imagery from several Martian orbiters was a...

High albedo dune features suggest past dune migration and possible geochemical cementation of aeolian sediments on Mars

0019-1035/$ see front matter 2011 Elsevier Inc. A doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2011.01.005 ⇑ Corresponding author. Fax: +33 4 72 44 85 93. E-mail address: [email protected] (E. Ga High albedo features are identified in association with barchan dunes in an equatorial inter-crater dune field on Mars using images from the MRO mission. This paper describes the morphometric properties of these fea...

Wind-blown sandstones cemented by sulfate and clay minerals in Gale Crater, Mars

Gale Crater contains Mount Sharp, a ~5km thick stratigraphic record of Mars’ early environmental history. The strata comprising Mount Sharp are believed to be sedimentary in origin, but the specific depositional environments recorded by the rocks remain speculative. We present orbital evidence for the occurrence of eolian sandstones within Gale Crater and the lower reaches of Mount Sharp, inclu...

Visible/near-infrared spectral diversity from in situ observations of the Bagnold Dune Field sands in Gale Crater, Mars

Sedimentary processes of the Bagnold Dunes: Implications for the eolian rock record of Mars

The Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity visited two active wind-blown sand dunes within Gale crater, Mars, which provided the first ground-based opportunity to compare Martian and terrestrial eolian dune sedimentary processes and study a modern analog for the Martian eolian rock record. Orbital and rover images of these dunes reveal terrestrial-like and uniquely Martian processes. The prese...