Dust Devil Tracks and Slope Streaks on Martian Sand Dunes
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Dust Devil Tracks and Slope Streaks on Martian Sand Dunes
ESP_031199_2070  Science Theme: Aeolian Processes
This observation shows a sand dune field in the Nili Fossae region of Mars. The dark lines swirling over the surface of the dunes are the tracks of dust devils.

Dust devils are whirlwinds that pick up the light colored dust on the surface as they move around in odd patterns. The lines visible on the dunes are the dark sand left behind when the surface layer of dust has been removed.

This area was previously imaged in August 2009, about two Mars years ago, and in that image dust devil tracks were also visible. However the tracks visible now are completely different from the earlier ones. This tells us that there has been at least one dust storm since then to erase the old tracks, and lots of dust devil activity to create the new ones.

We can also see dark linear streaks going down the slopes of the dunes. These features are caused by some sort of flow down the slope of the dune which strips away the light surface layer of dust. In 2009, similar streaks were observed on the slopes of the dunes, however they were different from the ones which are observed now. Thus the flows which are causing these streaks are still active today.

Written by: Corwin Atwood-Stone (audio by Tre Gibbs)  (15 May 2013)
 
Acquisition date
23 March 2013

Local Mars time
14:20

Latitude (centered)
26.658°

Longitude (East)
62.810°

Spacecraft altitude
285.8 km (177.7 miles)

Original image scale range
57.6 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects ~173 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
50 cm/pixel and North is up

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Equirectangular

Emission angle
7.6°

Phase angle
66.5°

Solar incidence angle
61°, with the Sun about 29° above the horizon

Solar longitude
287.5°, Northern Winter

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North azimuth:  97°
Sub-solar azimuth:  313.3°
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POSTSCRIPT
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. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.