The Bagnold Dunes in Southern Summer: Active Sediment Transport on Mars Observed by the Curiosity rover
Abstract
Since its landing at Gale crater five years ago, the Curiosity rover has provided us with unparalleled data to study active surface processes on Mars. Repeat imaging campaigns (i.e. "change-detection campaigns") conducted with the rover's cameras have allowed us to study Martian atmosphere-surface interactions and characterize wind-driven sediment transport from ground-truth observations. Utilizing the rover's periodic stops to image identical patches of ground over multiple sols, these change-detection campaigns have revealed sediment motion over a wide range of grain sizes. These results have been corroborated in images taken by the rover's hand lens imager (MAHLI), which have captured sand transport occurring on the scale of minutes. Of particular interest are images collected during Curiosity's traverse across the Bagnold Dune Field, the first dune field observed to be active in situ on another planet. Curiosity carried out the first phase of the Bagnold Dunes campaign (between Ls 72º and 109º) along the northern edge of the dune field at the base of Aeolis Mons, where change-detection images showed very limited sediment motion. More recently, a second phase of the campaign was conducted along the southern edge of the dune field between Ls 312º to 345º; here, images captured extensive wind-driven sand motion. Observations from multiple cameras show ripples migrating to the southwest, in agreement with predicted net transport within the dune field. Together with change-detection observations conducted outside of the dune field, the data show that ubiquitous Martian landscapes are seasonally active within Gale crater, with the bulk of the sediment flux occurring during southern summer.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2017
- Bibcode:
- 2017AGUFM.P33F..04B
- Keywords:
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- 5215 Origin of life;
- PLANETARY SCIENCES: ASTROBIOLOGY;
- 6225 Mars;
- PLANETARY SCIENCES: SOLAR SYSTEM OBJECTS;
- 5455 Origin and evolution;
- PLANETARY SCIENCES: SOLID SURFACE PLANETS;
- 5470 Surface materials and properties;
- PLANETARY SCIENCES: SOLID SURFACE PLANETS