[meteorite-list] New Type of Sand Ripple Discovered on Mars

Paul etchplain at att.net
Thu Jun 30 18:47:55 EDT 2016


A bewildering form of sand dune discovered on Mars
NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory, June 30, 2016
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160630150235.htm
http://astronomy.com/news/2016/06/strange-ripples-found-on-mars

"Some of the wind-sculpted sand ripples on Mars are a type
not seen on Earth, and their relationship to the thin Martian
atmosphere provides new clues about the atmosphere's history."

The paper is:

Lapotre, M. G. A. , R. C. Ewing, M. P. Lamb, W. W. Fischer, J. P.
Grotzinger, D. M. Rubin, K. W. Lewis, M. J. Ballard, M. Day, S.
Gupta, S. G. Banham, N. T. Bridges, D. J. Des Marais, A. A.
Fraeman, J. A. Grant, K. E. Herkenhoff, D. W. Ming, M. A.
Mischna, M. S. Rice, D. A. Sumner, A. R. Vasavada, and
R. A. Yingst, 2016, Large wind ripples on Mars: A record of
  atmospheric evolution. Science, 2016 DOI: 10.1126/science.aaf3206
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/353/6294/55

Other articles:

Debris flows on Arctic sand dunes are similar to dark dune
spot-seepage flows on Mars, Southwest Research Institute
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130906114258.htm

Curiosity update, sols 1218-1249: Digging in the sand at
Bagnold Dunes By Emily Lakdawalla
http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2016/02100935-curiosity-update-sols-1218-1249.html

Yours,

Paul H.



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