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New paper on the origin of dark Martian sand

Posted on March 31, 2022April 27, 2022 by Anthony Maue

Professor Devon Burr has a new paper accepted in Geology titled An explosive volcanic origin identified for dark sand in Aeolis Dorsa, Mars. Co-authors include Christina E. Viviano (JHU/APL), Timothy I. Michaels (SETI), and former graduate students Matthew Chojnacki (PSI) and Robert E. Jacobsen (UTK). This paper will soon be available online at DOI: 10.1130/G49814.1.

Although windblown sand is globally distributed on Mars, its origin(s) remained enigmatic. In this work, Burr et al. find support for the long-standing hypothesis of that sand on Mars comes from volcaniclastic deposits, thus providing a sand source that likely operated throughout Martian history. Pathways are demonstrated for locally-derived sand such as the dark, olivine-rich pyroclastic sand sources in the Aeolis Dorsa region, shown below.

Example sand source outcrops at southern Zephyria Planum, Mars. (A) HiRISE image of several outcrops. (B) and (C) are close-up views of outcrops. (D) Outcrop in C overlain by CRISM spectral data where red-orange tone indicates olivine-rich material. Figure 4 from the manuscript.

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