Mars Sand Dunes Update: Discovery Proves Mars Had Wispy Wind 3.7 Billion Years Ago

Mars sand dunes discovery proved that 3.7 billion years ago, Mars already had thin wispy wind. The wind movement is the key to creating these unique dunes.

The wind dragged ripple approximately reach 15 feet from crest to crest behind the backs of bigger dunes and were undetected until recently because of their size. Through the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, scientists thought the dunes were just larger versions of small ripples like the crescents produced on Earth's dunes from the Sahara to California's Death Valley, Nature World News reported.

Mars sand dunes or windblown waves were found by combining aerial photographs taken by Martian orbiters and rovers roaming the Mars terrain. These new dunes named as wind drag ripples coexisted along with typical dunes.

Mathieu Lapotre, head of a team of scientists and planetary geologist at Caltech, reported that a new class of geological formations were found in the sands of Mars. The team discovered waves of sand that has been swept by wind and formed dunes with tiny ripples. The newly formed dunes are formed by hyper low density Martian winds, which are due to the Earth's thick atmosphere.

The dunes, according to Lapotre, are unique because they are shaped oddly, instead of a linear sand ripples that are commonly known. They form sinuous crescentic lines that are asymmetrical on which one side slopes to the crescent point mimicking ocean waves crashing. Mars' sand dunes are steeper than any kind of dune.

Theoretically, sand particles that fly farther when whipped by wind could produce larger ripples, but the Curiosity rover's recent descent into the Mar's Bagnold dune field debunked this idea. Images taken from the rover prove that the wind dragged ripple coincide with the normal, tiny ripples that are found on Earth.

The sand dunes according to the research team were created as Mars' thin atmosphere and winds combine rolling and pulling the sand. They have also found a possible use for the new dunes. It is known that various sizes of dunes can determine how long have they been formed by looking at the sedimentary rock formations. The Burns formation on Mars was determined to be about 3.7 billion years old and was discovered to contain wind drag ripples.

Mars sand dunes discovery was published in the journal Science.