Martian Dust Devils May Reveal More about the Red Planets Surface and Core

Dust devils may actually help guide future missions to Mars. Scientists have used a seismometer to detect the tiny tilts of the ground as dust devils passed by in California, which may tell them a bit more about the dust devils on Mars.

Previous Mars missions, such as the Mars Expedition Rover Spirit, have filmed dust devils and the tracks they leave behind. These tracks are where the devils scour away the planet's loose surface soil to reveal darker rock below. While these tracks accumulate over large regions, they can cause changes in solar reflection, which may cause year-to-year variations in Mars' otherwise fairly uniform climate.

"While on Earth dust devils are generally just an occasional nuisance and meteorological curiosity, on Mars they are major agents of dust-raising, which is a major factor in the climate, and in the operation of solar-powered vehicles on Mars," said Ralph Lorenz, one of the researchers, in a news release.

In this latest study, the researchers tested a seismometer on a desert playa in California. The researchers fenced in their instrument array to protect it from wild donkeys and other wildlife that roamed the dry lake bed. In all, they deployed eight pressure loggers in a cross formation around a seismic station with the goal to see if they could match up instances of sharp, temporary pressure drops with any distinctive seismic signatures.

So what did they find?  A dust devil measuring about 10 meters in diameter can cause a drop in pressure equivalent to removing the weight of a small car from the ground surface. This means that a large dust devil can cause a more significant impact.

The findings reveal a bit more about dust devils, and also show a picture of how elastic the ground is when it pulls up and settles again in the wake of a vortex. This makes it a useful tool when exploring the nature of Mars' near-surface layers.

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