A comparison of methods used to estimate the height of sand dunes on Mars

Bourke, M. C.; Balme, M. R.; Beyer, R. A.; Williams, K. K.; Zimbelman, J. R.

doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2006.04.023

Cited by 60 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…For sites with migrating dunes but without stereo data and DTMs, dune heights (for sediment flux estimates) were estimated using a slip face length-height technique (Bourke et al, 2006) and Eq. (1): (2) where L SF is the measured adjacent slip face length, and θ is the assumed angle of repose, yielding dune slip face relief (H).…”

Section: Orbital Visible-wavelength Images Topography and Change Dementioning

confidence: 99%

Aeolian dune sediment flux heterogeneity in Meridiani Planum, Mars

et al. 2017

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It is now known unambiguously that wind-driven bedform activity is occurring on the surface of Mars today, including early detections of active sand dunes in Meridiani Planum's Endeavour crater. Many of these reports are only based on a few sets of observations of relatively isolated bedforms and lack regional context. Here, we investigate aeolian activity across central Meridiani Planum and test the hypothesis that dune sites surrounding Endeavour crater are also active and part of region-wide sediment migration driven by northwesterly winds. All 13 dune fields investigated clearly showed evidence for activity and the majority exhibited dune migration (average rates of 0.6 m/Earth-year). Observations indicate substantial geographic and temporal heterogeneity of dune crest fluxes across the area and per site. Locations with multiple time steps indicate dune sand fluxes can vary by a factor of five, providing evidence for short periods of rapid migration followed by near-stagnation. In contrast, measurements at other sites are nearly identical, indicating that some dunes are in a steady-state as they migrate. The observed sediment transport direction was consistent with a regional northeasterly-to-northwesterly wind regime, revealing more variations than were appreciated from earlier, more localized studies. Craters containing shallow, degraded, flat-floored interiors tended to have dunes with high sediment fluxes/activity, whereas local kilometer-scale topographic obstructions (e.g., central peaks, yardangs) were found to be inversely correlated with dune mobility. Finally, the previous, more limited detections of dune activity in Endeavour crater have been shown to be representative of a broader, region-wide pattern of dune motion.

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Section: Orbital Visible-wavelength Images Topography and Change Dementioning

confidence: 99%

Aeolian dune sediment flux heterogeneity in Meridiani Planum, Mars

et al. 2017

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“…Later global inventories based on data from the Viking Orbiters (Ward et al, 1985), Mars Global Surveyor's (MGS) Mars Orbital Camera (MOC), and Mars Odyssey's Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) (Hayward et al, 2007) showed scattered dune fields inside craters at all latitudes and an enormous north polar sand sea covering 680,000 km 2 , rivaling the largest ergs on Earth Tsoar et al, 1979;Hayward, 2011). Martian sand dunes were found with heights as great as $300 m (Fenton et al, 2003;Bourke et al, 2006), with thicknesses of crater-trapped sand deposits in the southern highlands reaching more than 100 m (Thomas, 1982).…”

Section: Dunesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bedform migration on Mars: Current results and future plans

et al. 2013

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“…Slip faces are typically not resolvable in MOC NA images, and lee and stoss slopes appear to be approximately symmetric Bourke et al, 2006).…”

Section: Physical Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some estimates have been made using methods such as low sun-angle measurements of shadow length (TAR height b1.5 m; Zimbelman, 2000); stereo imaging from overlapping MOC NA images (TAR height ∼5.7 m; Williams et al, 2003); photoclinometry, slip face measurements, and stereography (TAR heights 1-7.8 m; Bourke et al, 2006), and extrapolation from terrestrial examples, (TAR heights 1-3 m for a 40 m wavelength TAR; Wilson et al, 2003). Few data exist that allow systematic comparisons of ripple index (height/wavelength) for TARs on Mars with the value of ∼1/15 given by Sharp (1963) for ripples on Earth, although have begun the process using photometric methods and new MRO High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) data.…”

Section: Physical Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transverse Aeolian Ridges (TARs) on Mars

et al. 2008

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Aeolian processes are probably the dominant ongoing surface process on Mars; Large Dark Dunes (LDDs), particularly common aeolian landforms, were first recognized in the early 1970s. Recent, higher resolution images have revealed another, morphologically distinct, large population of smaller, ripple-like aeolian bedforms that have been termed "Transverse Aeolian Ridges" (TARs) as it is unknown whether they formed as large ripples or small dunes. We have begun a new study of TARs that examines their distribution, orientation, and morphology using N 10,000 high-resolution Mars Orbiter Camera (1.5 to 8 m/pixel resolution) images in a 45°longitude wide, pole-to-pole survey. The aim of this study is to assess whether TARs are active, to identify possible sediment sources and pathways, and to determine the volumes of sediment that they comprise. We present results from the first half of this study, in which we examine the northern hemisphere, and describe a new three-part classification scheme used to aid the survey. Our results show that TARs are abundant but not ubiquitous: preferentially forming proximal to friable, layered terrains such as those found in Terra Meridiani -the location of the ongoing Mars Exploration Rover "Opportunity" mission. TAR distribution in the northern hemisphere shows a strong latitudinal dependence with very few TARs being found north of ∼ 30°N. We also find that in most cases TARs are less mobile than LDDs, a conclusion possibly explained by Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity observations that show TARlike ripples to have a core of fine material armored by a monolayer of granule-sized particles. This could disallow significant bedform movement under the current wind regime. That TARs are essentially inactive is confirmed by superposition relations with slope streaks and LDDs and by observations of superposed impact craters. We suggest that observations made by the Opportunity Rover in Terra Meridiani indicate that the small aeolian bedforms common here are ripples and not small dunes. Farther south, these bedforms transition into larger features indistinguishable from TARs, suggesting that TARs (in the Meridiani area at least) are ripples and not dunes.

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A comparison of methods used to estimate the height of sand dunes on Mars

Cited by 60 publications

References 45 publications

Aeolian dune sediment flux heterogeneity in Meridiani Planum, Mars

Aeolian dune sediment flux heterogeneity in Meridiani Planum, Mars

Bedform migration on Mars: Current results and future plans

Transverse Aeolian Ridges (TARs) on Mars

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