HiRISE | Northern Dunes Covered by Seasonal Dry Ice (ESP_016190

NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Northern Dunes Covered by Seasonal Dry Ice
ESP_016190_2635 Science Theme: Seasonal Processes

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Dark sand dunes at high Northern latitudes on Mars are covered seasonally by a layer of condensed carbon dioxide (dry ice), visible in this image.

When the sun rises in the spring the ice begins to sublimate. Gas flow from the bottom of the ice layer propels sand from the dunes out through cracks to the top of the ice and down the dune slipface forming the dark streaks seen in this image.

Written by: Candy Hansen (3 February 2011)

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Acquisition date:	09 January 2010	Local Mars time:	1:13 PM
Latitude (centered):	83.514 degrees	Longitude (East):	118.561 degrees
Range to target site:	319.7 km (199.8 miles)	Original image scale range:	32.0 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~96 cm across are resolved
Map projected scale:	25 cm/pixel	Map projection:	POLAR STEREOGRAPHIC
Emission angle:	0.1 degrees	Phase angle:	69.7 degrees
Solar incidence angle:	70 degrees, with the Sun about 20 degrees above the horizon	Solar longitude:	35.3 degrees, Northern Spring
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North azimuth:	115 degrees	Sub-solar azimuth:	312.1 degrees
For map-projected products
North azimuth:	151.4 degrees	Sub solar azimuth:	350.5 degrees

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For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona. The image data were processed using the U.S. Geological Survey’s ISIS3 software.