Tag Archives: transverse eolian ridges

HiRISE: Bedrock riddles of Nili Fossae

This image of the Nili Fossae region, to the west of the great Isidis basin, shows layered bedrock with many impact craters. Nili Fossae is one of the most mineralogically important sites on Mars. Remote observations by the infrared spectrometer … Continue reading

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Curiosity: Rolling along behind the ridge

Sol 2361, March 29, 2019. Leaving a zigzag track (click the composite image above), Curiosity continues to roll northeastward behind Vera Rubin Ridge, roughly paralleling its direction. Sand dune “blow-overs” are visible to the left of the rover in the … Continue reading

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Winds of Jezero Crater

[Editor’s note: From a paper by Mackenzie Day and Taylor Dorn recently published in Geophysical Research Letters.] Wind in Jezero crater, Mars • Modern winds in Jezero crater come from the east, but ancient winds came from the southwest • … Continue reading

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

New terrestrial analog for martian megaripple dunes

A new paper [published in Icarus] by M. Foroutan (U. Waterloo, Canada) and co-authors describes the first terrestrial dark sand dunes similar to a type of mysterious dune found on Mars.  These megaripples, found surrounding the remote volcanic caldera Wau-an-Namus, … Continue reading

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off

HiRISE: The splitting of the dunes

The mound in the center of this image appears to have blocked the path of the dunes as they marched south (north is to the left in this image) across the scene. Many of these transverse dunes have slipfaces that … Continue reading

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

HiRISE: Channeled valley east of Protonilus Mensae

Channelized valley east of Protonilus Mensae. Beautiful Mars series.

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

HiRISE: Dunes

There shall be order! Beautiful Mars series.

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

HiRISE: Rounded mounds in northern Arabia Terra

These rounded, mysterious mounds occur along the floor of a depression in northern Arabia Terra. The mound surface has many parallel troughs that contain light-toned transverse aeolian (e.g., formed by the wind) ridges oriented perpendicular to the trough walls. The … Continue reading

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

HiRISE: Erosion & deposition in Schaeberle Crater

Schaeberle Crater is a large, heavily-infilled crater with many interesting features. This image shows a window into the crater fill deposit, showcasing eroding bedrock and aeolian landforms. This pit is located near the geometric center of our image, making it … Continue reading

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

HiRISE: Down in the paleochannels

Transverse aeolian ridges — or TARs — are mysterious, wind-blown features that are intermediate in size between ripples and much larger sand dunes. Ripples form from hopping sand grains, and dunes form from sand grains being blown over longer distances. … Continue reading

Posted in Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off