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Active Boulder Movement at High Martian Latitudes
Author(s) -
Dundas Colin M.,
Mellon Michael T.,
Conway Susan J.,
Gastineau Renaldo
Publication year - 2019
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 - 10.1029/2019gl082293
Subject(s) - landform , geology , mars exploration program , martian , latitude , movement (music) , escarpment , geomorphology , astrobiology , geodesy , aesthetics , philosophy , physics
Lobate stony landforms occur on steep slopes at high latitudes on Mars. We demonstrate active boulder movement at seven such sites. Submeter‐scale boulders frequently move distances of a few meters. The movement is concentrated in the vicinity of the lobate landforms but also occurs on other slopes. This provides evidence for a newly discovered, common style of activity on Mars, which may play an important role in slope degradation. It also opens the possibility that the lobate features are currently forming in the absence of significant volumes of liquid water.