Yardangs in Tithonium Chasma
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Yardangs in Tithonium Chasma
PSP_007417_1755  Science Theme: Sedimentary/Layering Processes
This image shows yardangs on the floor of Tithonium Chasma. Yardangs are elongated structures formed by aeolian (wind) erosion, developing as the wind exploits weaknesses in the rock, preferentially eroding them and streamlining the remnants. The result is a long, streamlined structure. Yardangs on Earth are found in areas of intense wind erosion, particularly where there is little rainfall; on Mars, yardangs are a common morphology in eroding sedimentary materials since wind is the major erosive process.

The rocks in this image are light-toned and likely sedimentary. The relatively blunt heads point northeast, towards the source of the wind which formed them. The yardangs have been further eroded and consist of chains of knobs and hills, roughly aligned. These may have once been consolidated ridges. If the rock was not of uniform strength, further erosion could have reduced ridges to aligned knobs by preferentially scouring away weak material.

Intriguing arcuate depressions are visible around several of the blunt northeast heads. These may be sites of preferential scouring and erosion where the wind flow was disrupted as it first encountered an obstacle. The most distinct examples of this are seen near the center of the image.



Written by: Colin Dundas  (19 March 2008)
 
Acquisition date
25 February 2008

Local Mars time
14:50

Latitude (centered)
-4.682°

Longitude (East)
271.197°

Spacecraft altitude
263.7 km (163.9 miles)

Original image scale range
26.2 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~79 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
25 cm/pixel and North is up

Map projection
Equirectangular

Emission angle
2.2°

Phase angle
48.4°

Solar incidence angle
47°, with the Sun about 43° above the horizon

Solar longitude
36.8°, Northern Spring

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North azimuth:  97°
Sub-solar azimuth:  30.7°
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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.