HR: 09:14h
AN: P21B-05    [Abstracts]
TI: Wind Patterns at the {\it Mars Exploration Rover} (MER) Sites Inferred from {\it Mars Express} HRSC and {\it MER} Images
AU: * Greeley, R
EM: greeley@asu.edu
AF: Arizona State University, Department of Geological Sciences, Box 871404, Temep, AZ 85287-1404 United States
AU: Thompson, S
EM: shane.thompson@asu.edu
AF: Arizona State University, Department of Geological Sciences, Box 871404, Temep, AZ 85287-1404 United States
AU: Whelley, P
EM: pwhelley@asu.edu
AF: Arizona State University, Department of Geological Sciences, Box 871404, Temep, AZ 85287-1404 United States
AU: Neukum, G
EM: gneukum@zedat.fu-berlin.de
AF: Freie Universitaet Berlin, Department of Earth Sciences, Institute of Geosciences, Remote Sensing of the Earth and Planets, Malteserstr. 74-100, Building D, Berlin, D-12249 Germany
AU: Squyres, S
EM: sws6@cornell.edu
AF: Cornell University, Department of Astronomy, 428 Space Sciences Building, Ithaca, NY 14853 United States
AU: Sullivan, R J
EM: sullivan@cuspif.tn.cornell.edu
AF: Cornell University, Department of Astronomy, 428 Space Sciences Building, Ithaca, NY 14853 United States
AU: Rafkin, S C
EM: rafkin@boulder.swri.edu
AF: Southwest Research Institute, 1050 Walnut Street, Suite 400, Boulder, CO 80302 United States
AU: Michaels, T
EM: tmichael@boulder.swri.edu
AF: Southwest Research Institute, 1050 Walnut Street, Suite 400, Boulder, CO 80302 United States
AU: Golombek, M P
EM: matthew.p.golombek@jpl.nasa.gov
AF: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Mail Stop 183-501, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109-8099 United States
AU: Arvidson, R
EM: arvidson@wunder.wustl.edu
AF: Washington University, Department of Geology, Box 1169, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63031-4899 United States
AU: Foing, B H
EM: Bernard.Foing@esa.int
AF: ESA Science Programme, ESTEC/SCI-SR, Postbus 299, Noordwijk, 2200AG Netherlands
AU: Richter, L
EM: Lutz.Richter@dlr.de
AF: DLR, Institute of Space Simulation, Cologne, D-51170 Germany
AU: Rongxing, L
EM: li.282@osu.edu
AF: Ohio State University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Geodetic Science, 470 Hitchcock Hall, 2070 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210-1275 United States
AU: Pinet, P
AF: UMR5562/CNRS/ Midi-Pyr‚n‚es Observatory, 14, Av. Edouard Belin, Toulouse, 31400 France
AU: HRSC Science Team, .
EM: gneukum@zedat.fu-berlin.de
AF: Freie Universitaet Berlin, Department of Earth Sciences, Institute of Geosciences, Remote Sensing of the Earth and Planets, Malteserstr. 74-100, Building D, Berlin, D-12249 Germany
AU: Athena Science Team, .
EM: sws6@cornell.edu
AF: Cornell University, Department of Astronomy, 428 Space Sciences Building, Ithaca, NY 14853 United States
AB: Various wind-related features exist at the {\it Spirit} (Gusev) and {\it Opportunity} (Sinus Meridiani) sites, including those seen from the surface (e.g., ripples, "wind tails" associated with rocks, and ventifacts), and from orbit (e.g., linear low-albedo patterns, some of which change with time). The orientations of these features suggest that formative winds at the {\it Spirit} site are from the northwest, consistent with predictions of prevailing winds from the {\it Mars Regional Atmospheric Modeling System} (MRAMS). Most of the aeolian features seen from orbit at the {\it Spirit} site are dark tracks thought to represent the passage of dust devils. HRSC images show that many tracks formed recently, including the one on which {\it Spirit} landed; {\it MER} Microscopic Imager data show that sands within the track zone are moderately dust free, while sands outside the track are dusty. Thus, dark dust devil tracks here and perhaps elsewhere on Mars are confirmed to represent the removal of bright dust to expose a darker substrate, which, at the {\it Spirit} site, consists of coarser-grained sands and granules in the bedforms and silt- to fine-sand in the soils. MRAMS suggests that strong winds occur in the afternoon in Gusev crater, a time consistent with dust-devil formation on both Earth and Mars. At the Meridiani site, prevailing wind-related features seen from orbit are bright wind streaks associated with craters, the orientations of which suggest formative winds from the northwest. Detailed mapping of aeolian features using {\it MER} data shows that local topography (such as craters and other depressions) at both rover sites can have a strong influence on the inferred wind patterns. Thus, data from both orbit and the surface are required to determine the general wind regime.
DE: 5409 Atmospheres--structure and dynamics
DE: 5415 Erosion and weathering
DE: 5464 Remote sensing
DE: 6225 Mars
SC: Planetary Sciences [P]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting