HiRISE: Summer sand dunes

ESP_044088_2640Mars’ permanent North Polar cap is ringed by sand dunes. In the winter and spring the dunes are covered by a seasonal cap of dry ice.

Here, we see the dark dunes in the summer, bare of seasonal frost. Two classic barchan dunes march across the rugged terrain. The long dark dune is crossing transverse aeolian ridges probably formed in a previous climate regime. [More at link]

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