How does topography affect wind abrasion on Mars? Recently observed shifts in ventifact orientation at Gale crater
Wind abrasion is the dominant erosive process inferred from observations by Curiosity during its traverse in Gale crater, but how and how fast wind scours Mount Sharp is unclear. Here, we infer formative wind direction from ventifacts (wind-eroded rock fragments) measured from Curiosity 's recent traverse. We compare these measurements to previous ones and to wind model predictions, and attempt to estimate the current rate of wind erosion near Curiosity 's location on Mount Sharp. Ventifacts in this study indicate winds blowing south-southeast, agreeing with previous studies on the floor of Gale crater, but differing from studies at the base of the mountain slope. Upslope abrasive wind flows predominate, consistent with idealized models. At some sites, ventifacts are oriented both upslope and downslope on Mount Sharp, suggesting bimodal wind direction at the mountain, agreeing with circulation models that predict diurnal reversals. Using crater-retention age statistics at one site, we estimate a ∼ 3.5 ± 0.8 μm/Earth year (yr) upslope horizontal erosion rate at Mount Sharp. We suggest the observed ventifacts formed when Mars' obliquity and climate regime were similar to those in the present day.
Authors
- C. M. Weitz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4646-0825)
- Amelie L. Roberts (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6504-3085)
- Da Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0272-6644)
- Claire Newman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9990-8817)
- Daniel Viúdez‐Moreiras (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8442-3788)
- Aster Cowart (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0265-7981)
- Jüergen Schieber (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0689-0780)
- B. Hallet (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1999-8467)
- Edwin S. Kite (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1426-1186)
- A. R. Vasavada
- W. Rapin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4660-8006)
- K. W. Lewis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3412-803X)
- Steven G. Banham (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1206-1639)
- Sanjeev Gupta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6415-1332)
- Deirdra M. Fey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0756-7969)
- J. A. Grant (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8276-1281)
- W. E. Dietrich
- Mary Ann Hoffman
- Madison L. Turner
Institutions
- Smithsonian Institution (US)
- Planetary Science Institute (US)
- Langley Research Center (US)
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory (US)
- University of Ulster (GB)
- Johns Hopkins University (US)
- University of New Mexico (US)
- University of Washington (US)
- Johns Hopkins Medicine (US)
- Malin Space Science Systems (United States) (US)
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (US)
- University of Chicago (US)
- Aeolis Research (United States) (US)
- Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (ES)
- Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté (FR)
- Indiana University Bloomington (US)
- National Air and Space Museum (US)
- Centro de Astrobiología (ES)
- Earth and Space Research (US)
- Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (FR)
- Imperial College London (GB)
- University of Baltimore (US)
- University of Maryland, College Park (US)
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
- UCLouvain (BE)
- Stanford University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Icarus
- Published
- 2025-04-20
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2025.116605
- Primary Topic
- Planetary Science and Exploration
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00