Large wind ripples on Mars: A record of atmospheric evolution
Creators
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Lapotre, M. G. A.1
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Ewing, R. C.2
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Lamb, M. P.1
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Fischer, W. W.1
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Grotzinger, J. P.1
- Rubin, D. M.3
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Lewis, K. W.4
- Ballard, M. J.2
- Daybell, M.5
- Gupta, S.6
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Banham, S. G.6
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Bridges, N. T.7
- Des Marais, D. J.8
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Fraeman, A. A.9
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Grant, J. A.10
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Herkenhoff, K. E.11
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Ming, D. W.12
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Mischna, M. A.9
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Rice, M. S.13
- Sumner, D. A.14
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Vasavada, A. R.9
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Yingst, R. A.15
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1.
California Institute of Technology
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2.
Texas A&M University
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3.
University of California, Santa Cruz
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4.
Johns Hopkins University
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5.
The University of Texas at Austin
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6.
Imperial College London
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7.
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
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8.
Ames Research Center
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9.
Jet Propulsion Lab
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10.
National Air and Space Museum
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11.
Astrogeology Science Center
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12.
Johnson Space Center
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13.
Western Washington University
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14.
University of California, Davis
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15.
Planetary Science Institute
Abstract
Wind blowing over sand on Earth produces decimeter-wavelength ripples and hundred-meter– to kilometer-wavelength dunes: bedforms of two distinct size modes. Observations from the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveal that Mars hosts a third stable wind-driven bedform, with meter-scale wavelengths. These bedforms are spatially uniform in size and typically have asymmetric profiles with angle-of-repose lee slopes and sinuous crest lines, making them unlike terrestrial wind ripples. Rather, these structures resemble fluid-drag ripples, which on Earth include water-worked current ripples, but on Mars instead form by wind because of the higher kinematic viscosity of the low-density atmosphere. A reevaluation of the wind-deposited strata in the Burns formation (about 3.7 billion years old or younger) identifies potential wind-drag ripple stratification formed under a thin atmosphere.
Additional Information
© 2016 American Association for the Advancement of Science. 25 January 2016; accepted 31 May 2016. We thank the MSL engineering and science teams; the Mastcam team; Malin Space Science Systems, who made the rover observations possible; and B. Ehlmann and K. Edgett for insightful comments. Data presented in this paper are archived in the Planetary Data System (pds.nasa.gov), and our compilation is available the supplementary materials (data tables S1 and S2). Part of this research was carried out at the Jet Propultion Laboutatory–Caltech, under a contract with NASA. Work in the United Kingdom was funded by the UK Space Agency. D.M.R. was funded by the NASA MSL Participating Scientist program, and A.A.F. by a KISS Prize Postdoctoral Fellowship and a Caltech GPS Division Texaco Prize Postdoctoral Fellowship.Attached Files
Accepted Version - Lapotre_et_al_CombinedPDF.pdf
Supplemental Material - aaf3206-Lapotre-SM.pdf
Files
aaf3206-Lapotre-SM.pdf
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Additional details
Identifiers
- Eprint ID
- 68829
- DOI
- 10.1126/science.aaf3206
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20160705-124124642
Related works
- Describes
- 10.1126/science.aaf3206 (DOI)
Funding
- NASA/JPL/Caltech
- United Kingdom Space Agency (UKSA)
- Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS)
Dates
- Created
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2016-07-05Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-11Created from EPrint's last_modified field