Related papers: Saltation transport on Mars
In this work we present laboratory measurements on the reduction of the threshold friction velocity necessary for lifting dust if the dust bed is illuminated. Insolation of a porous soil establishes a temperature gradient. At low ambient…
Wind-driven sand transport generates atmospheric dust, forms dunes, and sculpts landscapes. However, it remains unclear how the sand flux scales with wind speed, largely because models do not agree on how particle speed changes with wind…
The distribution and origin of serpentine on Mars can provide insights into the planet's aqueous history, habitability, and past climate. In this study, we used dynamic aperture factor analysis/target transformation applied to 15,760 images…
The surface gravity on Mars is smaller than the surface gravity on Earth, resulting in longer falling times. This effect can be simulated on Earth by taking advantage of air resistance and buoyancy, which cause low density objects to fall…
Airborne dust plays an active role in determining the thermal structure and chemical composition of the present-day atmosphere of Mars and possibly the planet's climate evolution over time through radiative--convective and cloud…
It is now an accepted fact that the size at which dunes form from a flat sand bed as well as their `minimal size' scales on the flux saturation length. This length is by definition the relaxation length of the slowest mode toward…
A model for the formation and distribution of sedimentary rocks on Mars is proposed. The rate-limiting step is supply of liquid water from seasonal melting of snow or ice. The model is run for a O(10^2) mbar pure CO2 atmosphere, dusty snow,…
As winds blow over sand, grains are mobilized and reorganized into bedforms such as ripples and dunes. In turn, sand transport and bedforms affect the winds themselves. These complex interactions between winds and sediment render modeling…
The observed temporary dark streaks on some dune slopes on Mars may be due to thin sheets of water (or some other liquid) trickling downhill. This note corrects conceptual errors in a previous paper (M\"{o}hlmann and Kereszturi 2010, Icarus…
Sediment transport along the surface drives geophysical phenomena as diverse as wind erosion and dune formation. The main length-scale controlling the dynamics of sediment erosion and deposition is the saturation length $L_\mathrm{s}$,…
We investigate the airborne transport of particles on a granular surface by the saltation mechanism through numerical simulation of particle motion coupled with turbulent flow. We determine the saturated flux $q_{s}$ and show that its…
It is currently uncertain as to whether methane exists on Mars. Data from the Curiosity Rover suggests a background methane concentration of a few tenths parts per billion whereas data from the Trace Gas Orbiter suggest an upper limit of…
Wind-blown sand dunes are both a consequence and a driver of climate dynamics; they arise under persistently dry and windy conditions, and are sometimes a source for airborne dust. Dune fields experience extreme daily changes in…
Multiple nations are planning activity on the Moon's surface, and to deconflict lunar operations we must understand the sandblasting damage from rocket exhaust blowing soil. Prior research disagreed over the scaling of the erosion rate,…
We carried out wind tunnel experiments on parabolic flights with 100 $\mu$m Mojave Mars simulant sand. The experiments result in shear stress thresholds and erosion rates for varying g-levels at 600 Pa pressure. Our data confirm former…
Starting from the physics on the grain scale, we develop a simple continuum description of aeolian sand transport. Beyond popular mean-field models, but without sacrificing their computational efficiency, it accounts for both dominant grain…
Our aim in this note is to introduce and study a mathematical model for the description of traveling sand dunes. We use surface flow process of sand under the effect of wind and gravity. We model this phenomena by a non linear…
The linear stability analysis of the equations governing the evolution of a flat sand bed submitted to a turbulent shear flow predicts that the wavelength $\lambda$ at which the bed destabilises to form dunes should scale with the drag…
With approximately one ninth of Earth's mass, Mars is widely considered to be a stranded planetary embryo that never became a fully-grown planet. A currently popular planet formation theory predicts that Mars formed near Earth and Venus and…
Wind-blown sand, or "saltation," is an important geological process, and the primary source of atmospheric dust aerosols. Significant discrepancies exist between classical saltation theory and measurements. We show here that these…