Geologist, sedimentation expert and Mars Science Laboratory team member David Rubin of the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center investigates longitudinal dunes in China's Qaidam Basin. He comments: "The landscape has some similarity with Mars: almost total lack of vegetation and wind-formed landscape."
David M Rubin (Former Employee)
Science and Products
Modeling surface gravity waves on a schematized ancient lake on Mars
This data release provides a wave model application and wave parameters derived from simulations of a schematized ancient lake on Mars. The phase-averaged wave model, SWAN, was applied within the Delft3D modeling system (Deltares, 2018) with reduced gravity and a range of atmospheric densities and wind speeds to simulate potential conditions that could generate wind waves on Mars. Wave...
Measurements of bed grain size on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona - 2000 to 2014
These data were compiled to better understand sedimentation patterns on the bed of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, and the way these patterns relate to suspended sediment grain size and concentration. These data were collected by the US Geological Survey Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center from 2000 to 2014, primarily using the "Flying Eyeball" underwater...
Digital seafloor images and sediment grain size from the mouth of the Columbia River, Oregon and Washington, 2014
Geo-referenced digital imagery of in-situ seafloor sediments in the mouth of the Columbia River was collected and analyzed to determine median grain size of the surface sediments. Digital imagery of the seafloor was collected with a flying eyeball (Rubin and others, 2007) from the R/V Parke Snavely from September 11 to September 13, 2014 (USGS Field Activity 2014-642-FA). The flying...
China's Qaidam Basin Landscape Similar with Mars
Geologist, sedimentation expert and Mars Science Laboratory team member David Rubin of the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center investigates longitudinal dunes in China's Qaidam Basin. He comments: "The landscape has some similarity with Mars: almost total lack of vegetation and wind-formed landscape."
Filter Total Items: 69
Sedimentological and geochemical perspectives on a marginal lake environment recorded in the Hartmann’s Valley and Karasburg members of the Murray formation, Gale crater, Mars
This study utilizes instruments from the Curiosity rover payload to develop an integrated paleoenvironmental and compositional reconstruction for the 65-m thick interval of stratigraphy comprising the Hartmann's Valley and Karasburg members of the Murray formation, Gale crater, Mars. The stratigraphy consists of cross-stratified sandstone (Facies 1), planar-laminated sandstone (Facies 2)...
Authors
Samantha Gwizd, Christopher M. Fedo, John P. Grotzinger, Steven G. Banham, Frances Rivera-Hernandez, Kathryn M. Stack, Kirsten L. Siebach, Michael T. Thorpe, Lucy Thompson, Catherine O'Connell-Cooper, Nathan Stein, Lauren A. Edgar, Sanjeev Gupta, David M. Rubin, Dawn Sumner, Ashwin R. Vasavada
Evidence for fluctuating wind in shaping an ancient Martian dune field: The Stimson formation at the Greenheugh pediment, Gale crater
Temporal fluctuations of wind strength and direction can influence aeolian bedform morphology and orientation, which can be encoded into the architecture of aeolian deposits. These strata represent a direct record of atmospheric processes and can be used to understand ancient Martian atmospheric processes as well as those on Earth. The strata can: give insight to ancient atmospheric...
Authors
Steven G. Banham, Sanjeev Gupta, David M. Rubin, Candice C. Bedford, Lauren A. Edgar, Alexander Bryk, Williiam E. Dietrich, Christopher M. Fedo, Rebecca M. E. Williams, Gwenael Caravaca, Robert Barnes, Gerhard Paar, Thomas Ortner, Ashwin R. Vasavada
A rock record of complex aeolian bedforms in a Hesperian desert landscape: The Stimson formation as exposed in the Murray Buttes, Gale Crater, Mars
Lithified aeolian strata encode information about ancient planetary surface processes and the climate during deposition. Decoding these strata provides insight regarding past sediment transport processes, bedform kinematics, depositional landscape, and the prevailing climate. Deciphering these signatures requires a detailed analysis of sedimentary architecture to reconstruct dune...
Authors
Steve G. Banham, Sanjeev Gupta, David M. Rubin, Kenneth S. Edgett, Robert Barnes, Jason K. Van Beek, Jessica A. Watkins, Lauren A. Edgar, Christopher M. Fedo, Rebecca M. E. Williams, Kathryn M. Stack, John P. Grotzinger, Kevin Lewis, Ryan C. Ewing, Mackenzie D. Day, Ashwin R. Vasavada
Causes of variability in suspended‐sand concentration evaluated using measurements in the Colorado River in Grand Canyon
Rivers commonly exhibit substantial variability in suspended‐sand concentration, even at constant water discharge. Here we derive an approach for evaluating how much of this variability arises from mean bed‐sand grain size. We apply this approach to the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, where discharge‐independent concentration of suspended sand varies by more than a factor of 23 (N = 1.4...
Authors
David M. Rubin, Daniel Buscombe, Scott Wright, David Topping, Paul Grams, John C. Schmidt, J.E. Hazel, Matthew A. Kaplinski, Robert B. Tusso
Evidence for a diagenetic origin of Vera Rubin Ridge, Gale Crater, Mars: Summary and synthesis of Curiosity's exploration campaign
This paper provides an overview of the Curiosity rover's exploration at Vera Rubin ridge (VRR) and summarizes the science results. VRR is a distinct geomorphic feature on lower Aeolis Mons (informally known as Mount Sharp) that was identified in orbital data based on its distinct texture, topographic expression, and association with a hematite spectral signature. Curiosity conducted...
Authors
Abigail A. Fraeman, Lauren A. Edgar, Elizabeth B. Rampe, Lucy M. Thompson, Jens Frydenvang, Christopher M. Fedo, Jeff G. Catalano, William E. Dietrich, Travis S. J. Gabriel, John P. Grotzinger, Jonas L'Haridon, Nicholas Mangold, Vivian Z. Sun, Christopher H House, Alexander Bryk, Craig Hardgrove, Sean Czarnecki, Kathryn M. Stack, Richard V. Morris, Ray E. Arvidson, Steve G. Banham, Kristen A. Bennett, Jon C. Bridges, Christopher S. Edwards, Woodward W. Fischer, Valerie K. Fox, Sanjeev Gupta, Briony H. N. Horgan, Sammantha R. Jacob, Jeffrey R. Johnson, Sarah S. Johnson, David R. Rubin, Mark R Salvatore, Susanne P. Schwenzer, Kirsten L. Siebach, Nathan T. Stein, Stuart Turner, Danika F. Wellington, Roger C. Wiens, Amy J. Williams, G.A. Davidson, Gregory M. Wong
A lacustrine paleoenvironment recorded at Vera Rubin ridge, Gale crater: Overview of the sedimentology and stratigraphy observed by the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover
For ~500 Martian solar days (sols), the Mars Science Laboratory team explored Vera Rubin ridge (VRR), a topographic feature on the northwest slope of Aeolis Mons. Here we review the sedimentary facies and stratigraphy observed during sols 1,800–2,300, covering more than 100 m of stratigraphic thickness. Curiosity's traverse includes two transects across the ridge, which enables...
Authors
Lauren A. Edgar, Christopher M. Fedo, Sanjeev Gupta, Steve G. Banham, Abigail A. Fraeman, John P. Grotzinger, Kathryn M. Stack, Nathan T. Stein, Kristen A. Bennett, Frances Rivera-Hernandez, Vivian Z. Sun, Kenneth S. Edgett, David M. Rubin, Christopher H House, Jason K. Van Beek
Evidence for plunging river plume deposits in the Pahrump Hills member of the Murray formation, Gale crater, Mars
Recent robotic missions to Mars have offered new insights into the extent, diversity and habitability of the Martian sedimentary rock record. Since the Curiosity rover landed in Gale crater in August 2012, the Mars Science Laboratory Science Team has explored the origins and habitability of ancient fluvial, deltaic, lacustrine and aeolian deposits preserved within the crater. This study...
Authors
Kathryn M. Stack, John P. Grotzinger, Michael P. Lamb, Sanjeev Gupta, David M. Rubin, Linda C. Kah, Lauren A. Edgar, Deirdra M. Fey, Joel A. Hurowitz, Marie J. McBride, Frances Rivera-Hernández, Dawn Y. Sumner, Jason K. Van Beek, Rebecca M. E. Williams, R. Aileen Yingst
Complex bedding geometry in the upper portion of Aeolis Mons, Gale crater, Mars
The Upper formation of Aeolis Mons in Gale crater exhibits curvilinear bedding patterns on the surfaces of several erosional benches that have been interpreted as cross-bedding. We use High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) stereo topography to test this hypothesis by measuring the bedding geometry within these benches. The bedding geometry is consistent with aeolian cross...
Authors
Ryan Anderson, Lauren A. Edgar, David M. Rubin, Kevin W. Lewis, Claire Newman
Ancient Martian aeolian processes and palaeomorphology reconstructed from the Stimson formation on the lower slope of Aeolis Mons, Gale crater, Mars
Reconstruction of the palaeoenvironmental context of Martian sedimentary rocks is central to studies of ancient Martian habitability and regional palaeoclimate history. This paper reports the analysis of a distinct aeolian deposit preserved in Gale crater, Mars, and evaluates its palaeomorphology, the processes responsible for its deposition, and its implications for Gale crater...
Authors
Steve G. Banham, Sanjeev Gupta, David M. Rubin, Jessica A. Watkins, Dawn Y. Sumner, Kenneth S. Edgett, John P. Grotzinger, Kevin W. Lewis, Lauren A. Edgar, Kathryn M. Stack, Robert Barnes, James F. Bell, Mackenzie D. Day, Ryan C. Ewing, Mathieu G.A. Lapotre, Nathan T. Stein, Frances Rivera-Hernández, Ashwin R. Vasavada
Planetary dune workshop expands to include subaqueous processes
Dune-like structures appear in the depths of Earth’s oceans, across its landscapes, and in the extremities of the solar system beyond. Dunes rise up under the thick dense atmosphere of Venus, and they have been found under the almost unimaginably ephemeral atmosphere of a comet.
Authors
Timothy N. Titus, Gerald Bryant, David M. Rubin
The sand dunes of the Colorado River, Grand Canyon, USA
The flow (Wright and Kaplinski, 2011), suspended sediment transport (Topping et al., 2000), sediment storage (Grams et al., 2013), and sedimentology of sandbars (Rubin et al., 1998) of the 250 miles of the Colorado River that run through Grand Canyon National Park have been well studied and described. However, there has been little systematic or synoptic description of the morphologies...
Authors
Daniel D. Buscombe, Matthew A. Kaplinski, Paul E. Grams, Thomas Ashley, Brandon McElroy, David M. Rubin
Shaler: in situ analysis of a fluvial sedimentary deposit on Mars
This paper characterizes the detailed sedimentology of a fluvial sandbody on Mars for the first time and interprets its depositional processes and palaeoenvironmental setting. Despite numerous orbital observations of fluvial landforms on the surface of Mars, ground-based characterization of the sedimentology of such fluvial deposits has not previously been possible. Results from the NASA...
Authors
Lauren A. Edgar, Sanjeev Gupta, David M. Rubin, Kevin W. Lewis, Gary A. Kocurek, Ryan Anderson, James F. Bell, Gilles Dromart, Kenneth S. Edgett, John P. Grotzinger, Craig Hardgrove, Linda C. Kah, Richard A. LeVeille, Michael C. Malin, Nicholas Mangold, Ralph E. Milliken, Michelle Minitti, Marisa C. Palucis, Melissa Rice, Scott K. Rowland, Juergen Schieber, Kathryn M. Stack, Dawn Y. Sumner, Roger C. Wiens, Rebecca M.E. Williams, Amy J. Williams
Science and Products
Modeling surface gravity waves on a schematized ancient lake on Mars
This data release provides a wave model application and wave parameters derived from simulations of a schematized ancient lake on Mars. The phase-averaged wave model, SWAN, was applied within the Delft3D modeling system (Deltares, 2018) with reduced gravity and a range of atmospheric densities and wind speeds to simulate potential conditions that could generate wind waves on Mars. Wave...
Measurements of bed grain size on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona - 2000 to 2014
These data were compiled to better understand sedimentation patterns on the bed of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, and the way these patterns relate to suspended sediment grain size and concentration. These data were collected by the US Geological Survey Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center from 2000 to 2014, primarily using the "Flying Eyeball" underwater...
Digital seafloor images and sediment grain size from the mouth of the Columbia River, Oregon and Washington, 2014
Geo-referenced digital imagery of in-situ seafloor sediments in the mouth of the Columbia River was collected and analyzed to determine median grain size of the surface sediments. Digital imagery of the seafloor was collected with a flying eyeball (Rubin and others, 2007) from the R/V Parke Snavely from September 11 to September 13, 2014 (USGS Field Activity 2014-642-FA). The flying...
China's Qaidam Basin Landscape Similar with Mars
Geologist, sedimentation expert and Mars Science Laboratory team member David Rubin of the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center investigates longitudinal dunes in China's Qaidam Basin. He comments: "The landscape has some similarity with Mars: almost total lack of vegetation and wind-formed landscape."
Geologist, sedimentation expert and Mars Science Laboratory team member David Rubin of the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center investigates longitudinal dunes in China's Qaidam Basin. He comments: "The landscape has some similarity with Mars: almost total lack of vegetation and wind-formed landscape."
Filter Total Items: 69
Sedimentological and geochemical perspectives on a marginal lake environment recorded in the Hartmann’s Valley and Karasburg members of the Murray formation, Gale crater, Mars
This study utilizes instruments from the Curiosity rover payload to develop an integrated paleoenvironmental and compositional reconstruction for the 65-m thick interval of stratigraphy comprising the Hartmann's Valley and Karasburg members of the Murray formation, Gale crater, Mars. The stratigraphy consists of cross-stratified sandstone (Facies 1), planar-laminated sandstone (Facies 2)...
Authors
Samantha Gwizd, Christopher M. Fedo, John P. Grotzinger, Steven G. Banham, Frances Rivera-Hernandez, Kathryn M. Stack, Kirsten L. Siebach, Michael T. Thorpe, Lucy Thompson, Catherine O'Connell-Cooper, Nathan Stein, Lauren A. Edgar, Sanjeev Gupta, David M. Rubin, Dawn Sumner, Ashwin R. Vasavada
Evidence for fluctuating wind in shaping an ancient Martian dune field: The Stimson formation at the Greenheugh pediment, Gale crater
Temporal fluctuations of wind strength and direction can influence aeolian bedform morphology and orientation, which can be encoded into the architecture of aeolian deposits. These strata represent a direct record of atmospheric processes and can be used to understand ancient Martian atmospheric processes as well as those on Earth. The strata can: give insight to ancient atmospheric...
Authors
Steven G. Banham, Sanjeev Gupta, David M. Rubin, Candice C. Bedford, Lauren A. Edgar, Alexander Bryk, Williiam E. Dietrich, Christopher M. Fedo, Rebecca M. E. Williams, Gwenael Caravaca, Robert Barnes, Gerhard Paar, Thomas Ortner, Ashwin R. Vasavada
A rock record of complex aeolian bedforms in a Hesperian desert landscape: The Stimson formation as exposed in the Murray Buttes, Gale Crater, Mars
Lithified aeolian strata encode information about ancient planetary surface processes and the climate during deposition. Decoding these strata provides insight regarding past sediment transport processes, bedform kinematics, depositional landscape, and the prevailing climate. Deciphering these signatures requires a detailed analysis of sedimentary architecture to reconstruct dune...
Authors
Steve G. Banham, Sanjeev Gupta, David M. Rubin, Kenneth S. Edgett, Robert Barnes, Jason K. Van Beek, Jessica A. Watkins, Lauren A. Edgar, Christopher M. Fedo, Rebecca M. E. Williams, Kathryn M. Stack, John P. Grotzinger, Kevin Lewis, Ryan C. Ewing, Mackenzie D. Day, Ashwin R. Vasavada
Causes of variability in suspended‐sand concentration evaluated using measurements in the Colorado River in Grand Canyon
Rivers commonly exhibit substantial variability in suspended‐sand concentration, even at constant water discharge. Here we derive an approach for evaluating how much of this variability arises from mean bed‐sand grain size. We apply this approach to the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, where discharge‐independent concentration of suspended sand varies by more than a factor of 23 (N = 1.4...
Authors
David M. Rubin, Daniel Buscombe, Scott Wright, David Topping, Paul Grams, John C. Schmidt, J.E. Hazel, Matthew A. Kaplinski, Robert B. Tusso
Evidence for a diagenetic origin of Vera Rubin Ridge, Gale Crater, Mars: Summary and synthesis of Curiosity's exploration campaign
This paper provides an overview of the Curiosity rover's exploration at Vera Rubin ridge (VRR) and summarizes the science results. VRR is a distinct geomorphic feature on lower Aeolis Mons (informally known as Mount Sharp) that was identified in orbital data based on its distinct texture, topographic expression, and association with a hematite spectral signature. Curiosity conducted...
Authors
Abigail A. Fraeman, Lauren A. Edgar, Elizabeth B. Rampe, Lucy M. Thompson, Jens Frydenvang, Christopher M. Fedo, Jeff G. Catalano, William E. Dietrich, Travis S. J. Gabriel, John P. Grotzinger, Jonas L'Haridon, Nicholas Mangold, Vivian Z. Sun, Christopher H House, Alexander Bryk, Craig Hardgrove, Sean Czarnecki, Kathryn M. Stack, Richard V. Morris, Ray E. Arvidson, Steve G. Banham, Kristen A. Bennett, Jon C. Bridges, Christopher S. Edwards, Woodward W. Fischer, Valerie K. Fox, Sanjeev Gupta, Briony H. N. Horgan, Sammantha R. Jacob, Jeffrey R. Johnson, Sarah S. Johnson, David R. Rubin, Mark R Salvatore, Susanne P. Schwenzer, Kirsten L. Siebach, Nathan T. Stein, Stuart Turner, Danika F. Wellington, Roger C. Wiens, Amy J. Williams, G.A. Davidson, Gregory M. Wong
A lacustrine paleoenvironment recorded at Vera Rubin ridge, Gale crater: Overview of the sedimentology and stratigraphy observed by the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover
For ~500 Martian solar days (sols), the Mars Science Laboratory team explored Vera Rubin ridge (VRR), a topographic feature on the northwest slope of Aeolis Mons. Here we review the sedimentary facies and stratigraphy observed during sols 1,800–2,300, covering more than 100 m of stratigraphic thickness. Curiosity's traverse includes two transects across the ridge, which enables...
Authors
Lauren A. Edgar, Christopher M. Fedo, Sanjeev Gupta, Steve G. Banham, Abigail A. Fraeman, John P. Grotzinger, Kathryn M. Stack, Nathan T. Stein, Kristen A. Bennett, Frances Rivera-Hernandez, Vivian Z. Sun, Kenneth S. Edgett, David M. Rubin, Christopher H House, Jason K. Van Beek
Evidence for plunging river plume deposits in the Pahrump Hills member of the Murray formation, Gale crater, Mars
Recent robotic missions to Mars have offered new insights into the extent, diversity and habitability of the Martian sedimentary rock record. Since the Curiosity rover landed in Gale crater in August 2012, the Mars Science Laboratory Science Team has explored the origins and habitability of ancient fluvial, deltaic, lacustrine and aeolian deposits preserved within the crater. This study...
Authors
Kathryn M. Stack, John P. Grotzinger, Michael P. Lamb, Sanjeev Gupta, David M. Rubin, Linda C. Kah, Lauren A. Edgar, Deirdra M. Fey, Joel A. Hurowitz, Marie J. McBride, Frances Rivera-Hernández, Dawn Y. Sumner, Jason K. Van Beek, Rebecca M. E. Williams, R. Aileen Yingst
Complex bedding geometry in the upper portion of Aeolis Mons, Gale crater, Mars
The Upper formation of Aeolis Mons in Gale crater exhibits curvilinear bedding patterns on the surfaces of several erosional benches that have been interpreted as cross-bedding. We use High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) stereo topography to test this hypothesis by measuring the bedding geometry within these benches. The bedding geometry is consistent with aeolian cross...
Authors
Ryan Anderson, Lauren A. Edgar, David M. Rubin, Kevin W. Lewis, Claire Newman
Ancient Martian aeolian processes and palaeomorphology reconstructed from the Stimson formation on the lower slope of Aeolis Mons, Gale crater, Mars
Reconstruction of the palaeoenvironmental context of Martian sedimentary rocks is central to studies of ancient Martian habitability and regional palaeoclimate history. This paper reports the analysis of a distinct aeolian deposit preserved in Gale crater, Mars, and evaluates its palaeomorphology, the processes responsible for its deposition, and its implications for Gale crater...
Authors
Steve G. Banham, Sanjeev Gupta, David M. Rubin, Jessica A. Watkins, Dawn Y. Sumner, Kenneth S. Edgett, John P. Grotzinger, Kevin W. Lewis, Lauren A. Edgar, Kathryn M. Stack, Robert Barnes, James F. Bell, Mackenzie D. Day, Ryan C. Ewing, Mathieu G.A. Lapotre, Nathan T. Stein, Frances Rivera-Hernández, Ashwin R. Vasavada
Planetary dune workshop expands to include subaqueous processes
Dune-like structures appear in the depths of Earth’s oceans, across its landscapes, and in the extremities of the solar system beyond. Dunes rise up under the thick dense atmosphere of Venus, and they have been found under the almost unimaginably ephemeral atmosphere of a comet.
Authors
Timothy N. Titus, Gerald Bryant, David M. Rubin
The sand dunes of the Colorado River, Grand Canyon, USA
The flow (Wright and Kaplinski, 2011), suspended sediment transport (Topping et al., 2000), sediment storage (Grams et al., 2013), and sedimentology of sandbars (Rubin et al., 1998) of the 250 miles of the Colorado River that run through Grand Canyon National Park have been well studied and described. However, there has been little systematic or synoptic description of the morphologies...
Authors
Daniel D. Buscombe, Matthew A. Kaplinski, Paul E. Grams, Thomas Ashley, Brandon McElroy, David M. Rubin
Shaler: in situ analysis of a fluvial sedimentary deposit on Mars
This paper characterizes the detailed sedimentology of a fluvial sandbody on Mars for the first time and interprets its depositional processes and palaeoenvironmental setting. Despite numerous orbital observations of fluvial landforms on the surface of Mars, ground-based characterization of the sedimentology of such fluvial deposits has not previously been possible. Results from the NASA...
Authors
Lauren A. Edgar, Sanjeev Gupta, David M. Rubin, Kevin W. Lewis, Gary A. Kocurek, Ryan Anderson, James F. Bell, Gilles Dromart, Kenneth S. Edgett, John P. Grotzinger, Craig Hardgrove, Linda C. Kah, Richard A. LeVeille, Michael C. Malin, Nicholas Mangold, Ralph E. Milliken, Michelle Minitti, Marisa C. Palucis, Melissa Rice, Scott K. Rowland, Juergen Schieber, Kathryn M. Stack, Dawn Y. Sumner, Roger C. Wiens, Rebecca M.E. Williams, Amy J. Williams