1. Vortex‐Dominated Aeolian Activity at InSight's Landing Site, Part 1: Multi‐Instrument Observations, Analysis, and Implications
- Author
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Alexander E. Stott, L. M. Sotomayor, Constantinos Charalambous, John A. Grant, Sebastien Rodriguez, Nicholas H. Warner, Veronique Ansan, Don Banfield, William T. Pike, Naomi Murdoch, Aymeric Spiga, Maria E. Banks, Daniel Viúdez-Moreiras, William B. Banerdt, P. H. Lognonné, Ernst Hauber, Jorge Pla-Garcia, Matthew P. Golombek, Clément Perrin, Ralph D. Lorenz, Justin N. Maki, T. Warren, Anna Mittelholz, Claire E. Newman, Antoine Lucas, Matthew E. Baker, Catherine L. Johnson, J. B. Garvin, Ingrid Daubar, Mark T. Lemmon, Sara Navarro, Catherine M. Weitz, J. B. McClean, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-IPG PARIS-Université de La Réunion (UR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Paris (UP), Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering [London] (DEEE), Imperial College London, MIT Haystack Observatory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Space Science Institute [Boulder] (SSI), Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géosciences [UMR_C 6112] (LPG), Université d'Angers (UA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Nantes université - UFR des Sciences et des Techniques (Nantes univ - UFR ST), Nantes Université - pôle Sciences et technologie, Nantes Université (Nantes Univ)-Nantes Université (Nantes Univ)-Nantes Université - pôle Sciences et technologie, Nantes Université (Nantes Univ)-Nantes Université (Nantes Univ), Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPG Paris), Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (UMR 8539) (LMD), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-École polytechnique (X)-École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Département des Géosciences - ENS Paris, École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL), Institut Pierre-Simon-Laplace (IPSL (FR_636)), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité), Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Ministère de l'Education nationale, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche (M.E.N.E.S.R.), Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory [Laurel, MD] (APL), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace (ISAE-SUPAERO), Planetary Science Institute [Tucson] (PSI), Smithsonian Institution, State University of New York at Geneseo (SUNY Geneseo), State University of New York (SUNY), Brown University, German Aerospace Center (DLR), University of British Columbia (UBC), Institute of Geophysics [ETH Zürich], Department of Earth Sciences [Swiss Federal Institute of Technology - ETH Zürich] (D-ERDW), Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology [Zürich] (ETH Zürich)- Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology [Zürich] (ETH Zürich), University of Oxford, Centro de Astrobiologia [Madrid] (CAB), Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA)-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [Madrid] (CSIC), Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP (UMR_7154)), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de La Réunion (UR)-Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPG Paris)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité), Cornell University [New York], Aeolis Research, ANR-19-CE31-0008,MAGIS,MArs Geophysical InSight(2019), Rodriguez, Sébastien, and MArs Geophysical InSight - - MAGIS2019 - ANR-19-CE31-0008 - AAPG2019 - VALID
- Subjects
Convection ,Seismometer ,010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,[PHYS.ASTR.EP]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP] ,[SDU.ASTR.EP]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP] ,Mars ,01 natural sciences ,Wind speed ,Physics::Geophysics ,aeolian changes at the InSight landing site on Mars ,convective vortices as a primary driver of particle motion ,dust lifting and saltation ,multi-instrument measurements constrain the timing and atmospheric conditions of aeolian changes ,passing vortices lifting dust are correlated with magnetic signatures ,surface creep ,surface tracks ,particle transport ,Geochemistry and Petrology ,Planet ,0103 physical sciences ,Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous) ,wind ,14. Life underwater ,010303 astronomy & astrophysics ,Physics::Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics ,InSight ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Mars landing ,Mars Exploration Program ,Geophysics ,Vortex ,Planetengeologie ,[PHYS.ASTR.EP] Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP] ,13. Climate action ,Space and Planetary Science ,Aeolian processes ,Astrophysics::Earth and Planetary Astrophysics ,Geology ,camera - Abstract
International audience; We report the aeolian changes observed in situ by NASA's InSight lander during the first 400 sols of operations: Granule creep, saltation, dust removal, and the formation of dark surface tracks. Aeolian changes are infrequent and sporadic. However, on sols, when they do occur, they consistently appear between noon to 3 p.m., and are associated with the passage of convective vortices during periods of high vortex activity. Aeolian changes are more frequent at elevated locations, such as the top surfaces of rocks and lander footpads. InSight observed these changes using, for the first time, simultaneous insitu and orbital imaging and high-frequency meteorological, seismological, and magnetic measurements. Seismometer measurements of ground acceleration constrain the timing and trajectory of convective vortex encounters, linking surface changes to source vortices. Magnetometer measurements show perturbations in magnetic field strength during the passage of convective vortices consistent with chargedparticle motion. Detachment of sand-scale particles occurs when high background winds and vortexinduced turbulence provide a peak surface friction wind speed above the classic saltation fluid threshold. However, detachment of dust-and granule-scale particles also occurred when the surface friction wind speed remained below this threshold. This may be explained by local enhancement of the surface roughness and other effects described here and further studied in Part 2 (Baker et al., 2021). The lack of saltation and bright dust-coated surfaces at the InSight landing site implies surface stability and the onset of particle motion may be suppressed by dust "cushioning." This differentiates the InSight landing site from other areas on Mars that exhibit more aeolian activity. Plain Language Summary Aeolian activity, the movement of dust and sand by the wind, is common on Earth and has been observed on other planets, including Mars. A new Mars lander, InSight, has for the first time monitored aeolian changes by combining imaging with weather, seismic and CHARALAMBOUS ET AL.
- Published
- 2021