Mars
Mars
The USGS Astrogeology Science Center is very active in Mars research, geology, cartography and mission support. Visit the links to the right to learn more about the team's work on the red planet.
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The Mars Global Digital Dune Database
The Mars Global Digital Dune Database (MGD 3 ) The Mars Global Digital Dune Database (MGD3)was compiled and released in three parts, encompassing the area from latitude 65°N to 65°S, from 60°N to 90°N (the north polar region), and from 60° to 90°S (south polar region). All the remote sensing data for both GIS and non-GIS users is available online in three U.S. Geological Survey Open File Reports...
Mars Dune Image Galleries
Mars Dune Image Galleries: CRISM, THEMIS, MOC and HiRISE
Dune Classification
A detailed classification system for Martian dunes is currently in the works. However, we have summarized current classifications below. You can find more information on terrestrial dune classification by clicking here.
Consortium Announcements and Meetings
Consortium hosted meetings will be listed below. If you would like to attend any of these meetings, please be sure to register. Should your plans change after you register, you may simply reregister with your changes detailed appropriately.
Workshops
Researchers in the planetary and terrestrial aeolian community are at work all over the world; the last workshop alone had representatives from eight countries and three continents! This research is conducted locally on Earth analogs and on such far-flung places as Titan, but the common goal is to understand geological processes on the rocky planets, dwarf planets, asteroids, and satellites of our...
Mars Dunes
Sand dunes are among the most widespread aeolian features present on Mars, serving as unique indicators of the interaction between the atmosphere and surface. On a planetary body, dunes accumulate where a supply of sand-sized grains exists or may be abraded, is carried downwind by winds of saltation strength, and is subsequently deposited where these winds weaken below the threshold for sand...
MER MI Products
A single MI image or an Microscopic Imager mosaic can be merged with Pancam color images. The two products must be coregistered first, and then added together to produce colorized images in which the intensity comes from the MI and color (hue/saturation) comes from the Pancam images. This method of colorizing data may not yield a satisfactory product if the solar illumination is from a different...
Laboratory Infrared Spectroscopy of Mars Analog Materials
Former USGS scientist, Jeff Johnson, performed key research on the detection of dust on the Martian surface. This work explored the laboratory thermal infrared and visible/near-infrared spectroscopy of palagonitic dust coatings on rock substrates and experimentally shocked feldspars and pyroxenes.
Three Decades of Martian Surface Changes
The surface of Mars has changed dramatically during the three decades spanned by spacecraft exploration. Comparisons of Mars Global Surveyor images with Viking and Mariner 9 pictures suggest that more than one third of Mars' surface area has brightened or darkened by at least 10%.
Valles Marineris - The Grand Canyon of Mars
The Valles Marineris is a system of canyons located just south of the Martian equator. The system is about 4000 km long, and, if on earth, would extend all the way across the United States. The central individual troughs, generally 50 to 100 km wide, merge into a depression as much as 600 km wide. In places the canyon floor reaches a depth of 10 km, 6 to 7 times deeper than the Grand Canyon.
Sub-ice Volcanism on Earth and Mars
Sub-glacially erupted volcanoes form free-standing flat-topped mesas, known as tuyas. Although there are some silicic edifices (e.g. Tuffen et al., 2002), most terrestrial sub-ice volcanoes are mafic and consist of horizontal layered basaltic lavas overlying friable flank deposits of steeply-dipping (angled) hyaloclastite breccias composed of variably-altered fine-grained palagonite material and...