Balme, Matthew

Barnes, Robert

Butcher, Frances

Fawdon, Peter

Gupta, Sanjeev

Huber, Ben

Paar, Gerhard

Robson, Ellen

English

Open Research Online

Open Research OnlineThe Open University’s repository of research publicationsand other research outputsSurface-Based 3d measurements of aeolian bedformson MarsConference or Workshop ItemHow to cite:Balme, Matthew; Robson, Ellen; Barnes, Robert; Huber, Ben; Butcher, Frances; Fawdon, Peter; Gupta, Sanjeev andPaar, Gerhard (2017). Surface-Based 3d measurements of aeolian bedforms on Mars. In: EGU General Assembly2017, 23-28 Apr 2017, Vienna, Austria.For guidance on citations see FAQs.c© 2017 The AuthorsVersion: Version of RecordLink(s) to article on publisher’s website:http://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2017/EGU2017-14702.pdfCopyright and Moral Rights for the articles on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyrightowners. For more information on Open Research Online’s data policy on reuse of materials please consult the policiespage.oro.open.ac.ukGeophysical Research AbstractsVol. 19, EGU2017-14702, 2017EGU General Assembly 2017© Author(s) 2017. CC Attribution 3.0 License.Surface-Based 3d measurements of aeolian bedforms on MarsMatthew Balme (1), Ellen Robson (2), Robert Barnes (3), Ben Huber (4), Frances Butcher (1), Peter Fawdon (5),Sanjeev Gupta (3), and Gerhard Paar (4)(1) Open University, Dept. of Physical Sciences, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom (matt.balme@open.ac.uk), (2) University ofBirmingham, UK, (3) Imperial College London, UK, (4) Joanneum Research, Austria, (5) Birkbeck College London, UKThe surface of Mars hosts many different types of aeolian bedforms, from small wind-ripples with cm-scalewavelength, through decametre-scale “Transverse Aeolian Ridges” (TARs), to km-scale dunes. To date, all mobileMars surface-missions (‘Rovers’) have encountered aeolian bedforms of one kind or another. Aeolian deposits ofloose, unconsolidated material provide hazards to Mars Rovers: sinkage into the aeolian material and enhancedslippage can prevent traction and forward progress, forcing the Rover to backtrack (e.g., MER Opportunity) andcan even ‘trap’ the rover ending the mission (e.g., MER Spirit).Here, we present morphometry measurements of meter-scale ripple-like bedforms on Mars, as observed bythe MER Opportunity Rover during its traverse across the Meridiani Planum region of Mars. The aim is to assesswhether there is a relationship between bedforms parameters that can be measured from orbit such as length andwidth, and bedform height, which can only be reliably measured from orbit for larger features such as TARs. Ifsuch a relationship can be found, it might allow estimates of ripple-height to be made from remote sensing dataalone. This could help understand the formation mechanism and provide a better characterization of the hazardpresented by these features.For much of the first 30 km of the traverse, Opportunity travelled across flat plains with meter-scale, ripple-likeaeolian bedforms (“plains ripples”) superposed upon them. During the traverse, the Rover acquired stereo imagingdata of its surroundings using both its scientific Pancam cameras system and the navigational Navcam system.Using these data, and newly developed Pro3D™ and PRoViP™ software from Joanneum Research, we obtainedDigital Elevation Models of many areas along the traverse, allowing us to measure the heights, widths and lengthsof aeolian bedforms. In addition, the same bedforms were digitized from orbital HiRISE image data (25 cm/pixresolution) in ArcGIS software to check for agreement between the ground-based and space-based measurements.We found that there is a clear correlation between bedform height and bedform length (as measured per-pendicular to the bedform ridge crest and thus, by inference, parallel to the bedform forming wind). We find thatbedform height is about 1/15th of bedform length (or bedform wavelength where bedforms are “saturated”) – inagreement with terrestrial measurements of granule ripples. This relationship, and the distribution of bedformsheights observed for different bedforms lengths, can be used to provide a probabilistic method of determining theheight distributions of bedforms in a given area, simply by measuring their lengths from orbit. This will be usefulfor determining traversability by Rovers, and so is helpful both for landing site selection and strategic planning ofRover routes.

Surface-Based 3d measurements of aeolian bedforms on Mars

http://oro.open.ac.uk/54062/1/Balme%20et%20al_EGU2017-14702.pdf

Surface-Based 3d measurements of aeolian bedforms on Mars

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Open Research Online