Phys. Rev. E 76, 041307 (2007) [16 pages]Dune formation on the present MarsReceived 1 May 2007; revised 9 August 2007; published 31 October 2007 We apply a model for sand dunes to calculate formation of dunes on Mars under the present Martian atmospheric conditions. We find that different dune shapes as those imaged by Mars Global Surveyor could have been formed by the action of sand-moving winds occuring on today’s Mars. Our calculations show, however, that Martian dunes could be only formed due to the higher efficiency of Martian winds in carrying grains into saltation. The model equations are solved to study saltation transport under different atmospheric conditions valid for Mars. We obtain an estimate for the wind speed and migration velocity of barchan dunes at different places on Mars. From comparison with the shape of bimodal sand dunes, we find an estimate for the time scale of the changes in Martian wind regimes. © 2007 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevE.76.041307
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevE.76.041307
PACS:
45.70.−n, 45.70.Qj, 92.60.Gn, 96.30.Gc
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