Airborne Dust in Mars Russell crater (IMAGE)

Southwest Research Institute

Airborne Dust in Mars Russell crater

Caption

An SwRI-led study identifies plumes of airborne dust emanating from sources inside gullies at Mars' Russell crater megadune in the Martian spring. The plume phenomena support the hypothesis that CO2 ice blocks dislodged by venting CO2 gas actively slide downslope in the spring, redistributing dust. Airborne plumes were observed in HiRISE and CTX optical imagery acquired by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2007, 2012 and 2016

Credit

NASA/JPL/Malin Space Systems (CTX) & NASA/JPL/University of Arizona (HiRISE)]

Usage Restrictions

Images/videos may be used by the media and the public for educational and informational purposes only

License

Licensed content

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.