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The first terrestrial analogue to Martian dust devil tracks found in Ténéré Desert, Niger
Author(s) -
Rossi Angelo Pio,
Marinangeli Lucia
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2004gl019428
Subject(s) - martian , martian surface , desert (philosophy) , geology , planet , sorting , mars exploration program , atmospheric sciences , astrobiology , physics , astrophysics , philosophy , epistemology , computer science , programming language
The first example of terrestrial dust devil tracks is presented in this paper. Tracks found in Ténéré Desert, Niger are formed by transient events not related to regional winds. Compared to the Martian tracks, Ténéré tracks are generally longer and show higher average density. We interpreted these differences as due to different intensities of the dust devil vortices combined with different surface properties. We also suggest that grain size distribution and sorting of surface material is crucial to allow track formation. Major surface changes of Ténéré tracks have been observed in selected areas over a time span of 2 years, confirming the very low preservation potential of the tracks. However, no clear evidence for seasonal variations has been found on the available dataset. The Ténéré Desert represents a unique site to study the formation and evolution of these peculiar features and to compare their behavior on other planets.