Colin Dundas, Ph.D.
Colin Dundas is a Research Geologist with the Astrogeology Science Center. He studies planetary geomorphology and surface processes using spacecraft imagery and topography data as well as numerical modeling, with a particular focus on active processes and change detection. He is a Co-Investigator and Science Theme Lead for Mass Wasting on the HiRISE camera team.
Past and current research areas include:
- Current activity on Martian slopes, including Recurring Slope Lineae and changes in gullies
- Martian ground ice, ice-exposing impact craters and scarps, and sublimation-thermokarst landforms
- Large lava flows and lava-volatile interactions on Mars, Io, and Earth
- Effects of target properties and secondary craters on crater chronology
- Floods in Martian outflow channels
- Volatile-loss landforms in the Solar System
Professional Experience
2009-2011: Postdoctoral researcher at the University of Arizona.
2011 - Present: Research Geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., Planetary Science (Geoscience minor), The University of Arizona, 2009
B.S., Planetary Science, California Institute of Technology, 2004
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 77
The role of material properties in the cratering record of young platy-ridged lava on Mars
Platy‐ridged surfaces in the Elysium Planitia region of Mars exhibit different crater densities on rafted plates and polygonally patterned areas between them. Rather than being indicative of different ages, these differences provide insight into the variable strength of different types of lava surface. The sizes of small craters, and the resulting size‐frequency distribution (SFD), depend on the m
Authors
Colin M. Dundas, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Veronica J. Bray, Alfred S. McEwen
The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) during MRO's Primary Science Phase (PSP)
The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) acquired 8 terapixels of data in 9137 images of Mars between October 2006 and December 2008, covering ∼0.55% of the surface. Images are typically 5–6 km wide with 3-color coverage over the central 20% of the swath, and their scales usually range from 25 to 60 cm/pixel. Nine hundred and sixty stereo pai
Authors
Alfred S. McEwen, Maria E. Banks, Nicole Baugh, Kris J. Becker, Aaron Boyd, James W. Bergstrom, Ross A. Beyer, Edward Bortolini, Nathan T. Bridges, Shane Byrne, Bradford Castalia, Frank C. Chuang, Larry S. Crumpler, Ingrid J. Daubar, Alix K. Davatzes, Donald G. Deardorff, Alaina DeJong, W. Alan Delamere, Eldar Z. Noe Dobrea, Colin M. Dundas, Eric M. Eliason, Yisrael Espinoza, Audrie Fennema, Kathryn E. Fishbaugh, Terry Forrester, Paul E. Geissler, John A. Grant, Jennifer L. Griffes, John P. Grotzinger, Virginia C. Gulick, Candice J. Hansen, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, Rodney Heyd, Windy L. Jaeger, Dean Jones, Bob Kanefsky, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Robert King, Randolph L. Kirk, Kelly J. Kolb, Jeffrey Lasco, Alexandra Lefort, Richard Leis, Kevin W. Lewis, Sara Martinez-Alonso, Sarah Mattson, Guy K. McArthur, Michael T. Mellon, Joannah Metz, Moses P. Milazzo, Ralph E. Milliken, Tahirih Motazedian, Chris Okubo, Albert Ortiz, Andrea J. Philippoff, Joseph Plassmann, Anjani Polit, Patrick S. Russell, Christian Schaller, Mindi L. Searls, Timothy Spriggs, Steve W. Squyres, Steven Tarr, Nicolas Thomas, Bradley J. Thomson, Livio L. Tornabene, Charlie Van Houten, Circe Verba, Catherine M. Weitz, James J. Wray
High resolution imaging science experiment (HiRISE) images of volcanic terrains from the first 6 months of the Mars reconnaissance orbiter primary science phase
In the first 6 months of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's Primary Science Phase, the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera has returned images sampling the diversity of volcanic terrains on Mars. While many of these features were noted in earlier imaging, they are now seen with unprecedented clarity. We find that some volcanic vents produced predominantly effusive products wh
Authors
Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Windy L. Jaeger, Alfred S. McEwen, Livio L. Tornabene, Ross A. Beyer, Colin M. Dundas, Moses P. Milazzo
HiRISE observations of fractured mounds: Possible Martian pingos
Early images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera have revealed small fractured mounds in the Martian mid‐latitudes. HiRISE resolves fractures on the mound surfaces, indicating uplift, and shows that the mound surface material resembles that of the surrounding landscape. Analysis of Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images shows that in Utopia Planitia the mounds lie almost
Authors
Colin M. Dundas, Michael T. Mellon, Alfred S. McEwen, Alexandra Lefort, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Nicolas Thomas
Athabasca Valles, Mars: A lava-draped channel system
Athabasca Valles is a young outflow channel system on Mars that may have been carved by catastrophic water floods. However, images acquired by the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft reveal that Athabasca Valles is now entirely draped by a thin layer of solidified lava - the remnant of a once-swollen river of molten rock. The lava er
Authors
Windy L. Jaeger, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Alfred S. McEwen, Colin M. Dundas, Paul C. Russell
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 77
The role of material properties in the cratering record of young platy-ridged lava on Mars
Platy‐ridged surfaces in the Elysium Planitia region of Mars exhibit different crater densities on rafted plates and polygonally patterned areas between them. Rather than being indicative of different ages, these differences provide insight into the variable strength of different types of lava surface. The sizes of small craters, and the resulting size‐frequency distribution (SFD), depend on the m
Authors
Colin M. Dundas, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Veronica J. Bray, Alfred S. McEwen
The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) during MRO's Primary Science Phase (PSP)
The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) acquired 8 terapixels of data in 9137 images of Mars between October 2006 and December 2008, covering ∼0.55% of the surface. Images are typically 5–6 km wide with 3-color coverage over the central 20% of the swath, and their scales usually range from 25 to 60 cm/pixel. Nine hundred and sixty stereo pai
Authors
Alfred S. McEwen, Maria E. Banks, Nicole Baugh, Kris J. Becker, Aaron Boyd, James W. Bergstrom, Ross A. Beyer, Edward Bortolini, Nathan T. Bridges, Shane Byrne, Bradford Castalia, Frank C. Chuang, Larry S. Crumpler, Ingrid J. Daubar, Alix K. Davatzes, Donald G. Deardorff, Alaina DeJong, W. Alan Delamere, Eldar Z. Noe Dobrea, Colin M. Dundas, Eric M. Eliason, Yisrael Espinoza, Audrie Fennema, Kathryn E. Fishbaugh, Terry Forrester, Paul E. Geissler, John A. Grant, Jennifer L. Griffes, John P. Grotzinger, Virginia C. Gulick, Candice J. Hansen, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, Rodney Heyd, Windy L. Jaeger, Dean Jones, Bob Kanefsky, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Robert King, Randolph L. Kirk, Kelly J. Kolb, Jeffrey Lasco, Alexandra Lefort, Richard Leis, Kevin W. Lewis, Sara Martinez-Alonso, Sarah Mattson, Guy K. McArthur, Michael T. Mellon, Joannah Metz, Moses P. Milazzo, Ralph E. Milliken, Tahirih Motazedian, Chris Okubo, Albert Ortiz, Andrea J. Philippoff, Joseph Plassmann, Anjani Polit, Patrick S. Russell, Christian Schaller, Mindi L. Searls, Timothy Spriggs, Steve W. Squyres, Steven Tarr, Nicolas Thomas, Bradley J. Thomson, Livio L. Tornabene, Charlie Van Houten, Circe Verba, Catherine M. Weitz, James J. Wray
High resolution imaging science experiment (HiRISE) images of volcanic terrains from the first 6 months of the Mars reconnaissance orbiter primary science phase
In the first 6 months of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's Primary Science Phase, the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera has returned images sampling the diversity of volcanic terrains on Mars. While many of these features were noted in earlier imaging, they are now seen with unprecedented clarity. We find that some volcanic vents produced predominantly effusive products wh
Authors
Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Windy L. Jaeger, Alfred S. McEwen, Livio L. Tornabene, Ross A. Beyer, Colin M. Dundas, Moses P. Milazzo
HiRISE observations of fractured mounds: Possible Martian pingos
Early images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera have revealed small fractured mounds in the Martian mid‐latitudes. HiRISE resolves fractures on the mound surfaces, indicating uplift, and shows that the mound surface material resembles that of the surrounding landscape. Analysis of Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images shows that in Utopia Planitia the mounds lie almost
Authors
Colin M. Dundas, Michael T. Mellon, Alfred S. McEwen, Alexandra Lefort, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Nicolas Thomas
Athabasca Valles, Mars: A lava-draped channel system
Athabasca Valles is a young outflow channel system on Mars that may have been carved by catastrophic water floods. However, images acquired by the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft reveal that Athabasca Valles is now entirely draped by a thin layer of solidified lava - the remnant of a once-swollen river of molten rock. The lava er
Authors
Windy L. Jaeger, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Alfred S. McEwen, Colin M. Dundas, Paul C. Russell