Dunes in Abalos Undae
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Dunes in Abalos Undae
PSP_010219_2785  Science Theme: Polar Geology
The enhanced color data of dunes in Abalos Undae illuminate differences in composition. The dunes appear blueish because of their basaltic composition, while the reddish-white areas are probably covered in dust. Upon close inspection, tiny ripples and grooves are visible on the surface of the dunes; these features are formed by wind action, as are the dunes themselves.

It is possible that the dunes are no longer migrating (the process of dune formation forces dunes to move in the direction of the main winds) and that the tiny ripples are the only active parts of the dunes today.

The Abalos Undae dune field stretches westward, away from a portion (Abalos Colles) of the ice-rich north polar layered deposits that is separated from the main Planum Boreum dome by two large chasms. These dunes are special because their sands may have been derived from erosion of the Rupes Tenuis unit (the lowest stratigraphic unit in Planum Boreum, beneath the icier layers) during formation of the chasms. Some researchers have argued that these chasms were formed partially by melting of the polar ice.

Written by: Kate Fishbaugh  (19 November 2008)
 
Acquisition date
30 September 2008

Local Mars time
05:12

Latitude (centered)
81.586°

Longitude (East)
279.876°

Spacecraft altitude
316.0 km (196.4 miles)

Original image scale range
63.9 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects ~192 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
50 cm/pixel

Map projection
Polarstereographic

Emission angle
8.1°

Phase angle
80.7°

Solar incidence angle
74°, with the Sun about 16° above the horizon

Solar longitude
134.9°, Northern Summer

For non-map projected images
North azimuth:  246°
Sub-solar azimuth:  320.0°
JPEG
Black and white
map projected  non-map

IRB color
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Merged IRB
map projected

Merged RGB
map projected

RGB color
non-map projected

JP2
Black and white
map-projected   (369MB)

IRB color
map-projected   (205MB)

JP2 EXTRAS
Black and white
map-projected  (191MB)
non-map           (148MB)

IRB color
map projected  (90MB)
non-map           (155MB)

Merged IRB
map projected  (373MB)

Merged RGB
map-projected  (339MB)

RGB color
non map           (143MB)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
B&W label
Color label
Merged IRB label
Merged RGB label
EDR products
HiView

NB
IRB: infrared-red-blue
RGB: red-green-blue
About color products (PDF)

Black & white is 5 km across; enhanced color about 1 km
For scale, use JPEG/JP2 black & white map-projected images

USAGE POLICY
All of the images produced by HiRISE and accessible on this site are within the public domain: there are no restrictions on their usage by anyone in the public, including news or science organizations. We do ask for a credit line where possible:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

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.