My research in planetary science is in the field of planetary geomorphology. I specialize in how various processes may have shaped planetary surfaces and what those surface shapes can tell us about the geologic history of that body. In this work, I use analysis of spacecraft images, field work on terrestrial analogues, and experiments.
Much of my work has explored water-formed features on Mars. Early work focused on young flood channels on Mars and their bedforms, using similar bedforms found in the Channeled Scabland and Icelandic flood channels to constrain the Martian flood flow conditions. From this basis, I became interested in ground ice features, working with Canadian and Alaskan colleagues to assess the distribution of pingos on Mars. Current research includes the mapping and characterization of Mars’ largest population of sinuous ridges – inverted fluvial deposits – , using terrestrial inverted fluvial channels as analogues.
I’m also interested in Titan, the surprisingly Earth-like moon of Saturn. Titan has fluvial and alluvial features, as on Earth, and one Titan projects involved analysis of data from the Cassini mission to the Saturnian system to map and characterize those fluvial features on Titan. Click HERE to download a zipped file of these ArcGIS data as published in Burr et al. (2013) Icarus. A developing project is the analysis of putative alluvial fans on Titan and their mechanisms of formation.
The other Titan project entails the refurbishment and use of the Titan Wind Tunnel in NASA’s Planetary Aeolian Laboratory to determine the atmospheric conditions and wind speeds responsible for Titan’s vast aeolian dunes. This work has shown some interesting differences between model predictions and experimental results for threshold wind speeds under dense atmospheric conditions.
Devon Burr conducting experiments at the Titan Wind Tunnel, part of the Planetary Aeolian Laboratory, at NASA Ames.
Conference Abstracts
2018:
Golder, K. B. and D.M. Burr (2018) Geomorphological mapping of lava flows on Mercury, Earth, and Mars. 67th GSA Southeastern section, Knoxville, TN, Apr 12-13, Abstract 19-8.
Jacobsen, R. E. and D. M. Burr (2018) Constraining the relative ages of complexly stratified deposits on another planet: Case study of the Aeolia Dorsa, Mars. 67th GSA Southeastern section, Knoxville, TN, Apr 12-13, Abstract 19-7.
Peel, S. E., and D. M. Burr (2018) Mapping lacustrine, fluvial, and aeolian deposits within craters in the Aeolis Dorsa region of Mars. 67th GSA Southeastern section, Knoxville, TN, Apr 12-13, Abstract 19-6.
Borden, R. M., and D. M. Burr (2018) Mapping and analysis of small-scale wrinkle ridges in the Aeolis Dorsa region, Mars. 67th GSA Southeastern section, Knoxville, TN, Apr 12-13, Abstract 19-5.
Nypaver, C. A., B. J. Thomson, D. M. Burr, and C. I. Fassett (2018) Radar properties of impact ejecta on the lunar maria: A model for degradation and age. 67th GSA Southeastern section, Knoxville, TN, Apr 12-13, Abstract 17-1.
Nield, E. V., D. M. Burr, J. P. Emery, S. L. F. Sutton, J. F. Kok, and J. K. Smith (2018) The effect of density ratio on saltation threshold: Rederiving the curve. 67th GSA Southeastern section, Knoxville, TN, Apr 12-13, Abstract 5-10.
Maue, A. D, D. M. Burr, J. S. Levy, and E. Nathan (2018) Observational and experimental evidence for the comminution of fluvial sediment on Titan. 67th GSA Southeastern section, Knoxville, TN, Apr 12-13, Abstract 5-10.
Nypaver, C. A., B. J. Thomson, D. M. Burr, F. Fassett, C. Neish, W. Patterson, and A. Stickle (2018) Radar properties of impact ejecta on the lunar maria: A model for degradation and age. Lunar Planet. Sci. XLIX, The Woodlands, TX, Mar 19-23, Abstract 2460.
Peel, S. E., and D. M. Burr (2018) Paleo-lakes in central pits, Mars: An update. Lunar Planet. Sci. XLIX, The Woodlands, TX, Mar 19-23, Abstract 1004.
Peel, S. E, and D. M. Burr (2018) Intercrater deposits in the Aeolis Dorsa region, Mars: Evidence for lakes? Lunar Planet. Sci. XLIX, The Woodlands, TX, Mar 19-23, Abstract 1006.
Maue, A. D, D. M. Burr, J. S. Levy, and E. Nathan (2018) Comminution of Titan’s icy cobbles: Radar brightness trends and the Titan tumbler. Lunar Planet. Sci. XLIX, The Woodlands, TX, Mar 19-23, Abstract 1113.
Golder, K. B., D. M. Burr, and L. T. Tran (2018) Constraining controls on the emplacement of long lava flows on Earth and Mars through modeling in ArcGIS. Lunar Planet. Sci. XLIX, The Woodlands, TX, Mar 19-23, Abstract 1515.
Jacobsen, R. E., and D. M. Burr (2018) Synthesizing the history of a diverse inverted landscape: Mapping of the Aeolis Dorsa region, Mars. Lunar Planet. Sci. XLIX, The Woodlands, TX, Mar 19-23, Abstract 2057.
Nield, E. V., D. M. Burr, and L. D. V. Neakrase (2018) Archiving experimentally derived threshold wind speed data in PDS4. Lunar Planet. Sci. XLIX, The Woodlands, TX, Mar 19-23, Abstract 2106.
Boyd, A. S., and D. M. Burr (2018) Investigating the sources and origins of dark sand in Aeolis Dora, Mars: Evidence for local dark sediment production. Lunar Planet. Sci. XLIX, The Woodlands, TX, Mar 19-23, Abstract 2734.
Runyon, K. D., D. M. Burr, J. P. Emery, S. L. F. Sutton, E. V. Nield, and J. K. Smith (2018) Titan’s aeolian saltation threshold conditions: Initial results. Lunar Planet. Sci. XLIX, The Woodlands, TX, Mar 19-23, Abstract 1291.
Sakimoto, S. E. H., and D. M. Burr (2018) Corroboration of Titan Wind Tunnel experiments and computational fluid dynamics modeling of Titan sediment transport. Lunar Planet. Sci. XLIX, The Woodlands, TX, Mar 19-23, Abstract 2005.
Nield, E. V., D. M. Burr, J. P. Emery, S. L. F. Sutton, J. F. Kok, and J. K. Smith (2018) A wind tunnel study of the effect of density ratio on saltation threshold conditions. Lunar Planet. Sci. XLIX, The Woodlands, TX, Mar 19-23, Abstract 2141.
Sutton, S. L. F, and D. M. Burr (2018) Avalanching on aeolian dunes: kinematic modeling using a discrete element framework, with implications for dune behaviour. Lunar Planet. Sci. XLIX, The Woodlands, TX, Mar 19-23, Abstract 2147.
Borden, R. M. and D. M. Burr (2018) Analysis of small-scale wrinkle ridges in Aeolis Dorsa, Mars. Lunar Planet. Sci. XLIX, The Woodlands, TX, Mar 19-23, Abstract 1003.
2017:
Golder, K. B., D. M. Burr and L. T. Tran (2017) Constraining controls on the emplacement of long lava flows on Earth and Mars through modeling in ArcGIS. Am. Geophys. Union Fall Mtg, Abstract 1515.
Levy, J. S., D. M. Burr, and A. Maue (2017) The Titan Tumbler: initial results from laboratory simulation of icy sediment comminution and rounding. GSA Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, Oct 22-25, Abstract 54-11.
Burr, D. M. (2017) Geosciences poetry: fun and (pedagogically) fruitful!. GSA Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, Oct 22-25, Abstract 166-7.
Borden, R. M. and D. M. Burr (2017) Small-scale wrinkle ridges on the Martian dichotomy boundary: evidence for change in principal stress direction. GSA Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, Oct 22-25, Abstract 180-4.
Borden, R. M. and D. M. Burr (2017) Mapping and preliminary analysis of wrinkle ridges in the Aeolis Dorsa region, Mars. Planetary Mappers Meeting, Flagstaff, AZ, Jun 12-14, Abstract 7056.
Burr, D. M., R. E. Jacobsen, A. Lefort, R. M. Borden, A. S. Boyd, and S. E. Peel (2017) Updated on mapping of the Aeolis Dorsa region, Mars: discovering ever more diversity in this inverted landscape. Planetary Mappers Meeting, Flagstaff, AZ, Jun 12-14, Abstract 7010.
Boyd, A. S., D. M. Burr, and L.T. Tran (2017) Investigating sand sources and origins in Aeolis Dorsa, Mars, via quantitative GIS techniques. Fifth Intl Planetary Dunes Workshop, St George, UT, May 16-19, Abstract 3016.
Nield, E.V, D. M. Burr, and L.D. V. Neakrase (2017) Archiving experimentally derived threshold wind speed data in PDS4. Fifth Intl Planetary Dunes Workshop, St George, UT, May 16-19, Abstract 3014.
Sutton, S. L. F., E. V. Nield, D. M. Burr, N. T. Bridges, J. K. Smith, J.F. Kok, F.A. Turney, J. R. Marshall (2017) Towards a classification scheme for aeolian fluid ejection: observations during high-pressure wind tunnel experiments. Fifth Intl Planetary Dunes Workshop, St George, UT, May 16-19, Abstract 3040.
Borden, R. M. and D. M. Burr (2017) Investigations of wrinkle ridges in the Aeolis Dorsa region, Mars. Lunar Planet. Sci. XLVIII, The Woodlands, TX, March 20-24, Abstract 1056.
Boyd, A. S. and D. M. Burr (2017) Constraining sources of sand in the Aeolis Dorsa region, Mars, via sand dune morphologies and sand distributions. Lunar Planet. Sci. XLVIII, The Woodlands, TX, March 20-24, Abstract 1463.
Golder, K. B. and D. M. Burr (2017) Age discrepancies within the Cerberus plains channelized lavas, Mars: obscured eruption sources? Lunar Planet. Sci. XLVIII, The Woodlands, TX, March 20-24, Abstract 2045.
Golder, K. B. and D. M. Burr (2017) Constraining the controlling parameter(s) for the emplacement of long lava flows on Mars: a quantitative modeling approach. Lunar Planet. Sci. XLVIII, The Woodlands, TX, March 20-24, Abstract 2056.
Jacobsen, R. E. and D. M. Burr (2017) New paradigm for empirical relationships in martian paleohydraulics: insights from analyses of a terrestrial analog channel. Lunar Planet. Sci. XLVIII, The Woodlands, TX, March 20-24, Abstract 1285.
Levy, J. S., D. M. Burr, and A. D. Maue (2017) The Titan Tumbler: laboratory simulation of icy sediment comminution and rounding processes. Lunar Planet. Sci. XLVIII, The Woodlands, TX, March 20-24, Abstract 1105.
Maue, A. D., D. M. Burr, and R. E. Jacobsen (2017) Geomorphologic map of an icy human exploration zone: Deuteronilus Mensae. Lunar Planet. Sci. XLVIII, The Woodlands, TX, March 20-24, Abstract 2766.
Peel, S. E. and D. M. Burr (2017) Testing of central pit formation mechanisms using inferential statistics. Lunar Planet. Sci. XLVIII, The Woodlands, TX, March 20-24, Abstract 1020.
Peel, S. E. and D. M. Burr (2017) Testing for [the presence of] central pit paleo-lakes on Mars, an update. Lunar Planet. Sci. XLVIII, The Woodlands, TX, March 20-24, Abstract 1021.
Sutton, S. L. F., D. M. Burr, N. T. Bridges, J. K. Smith, S. M. Horst, X. Yu, J. F. Kok, F. A. Turney, J. R. Marshall, and D. A. Williams (2017) The Titan Wind Tunnel in the NASA Planetary Aeolian Laboratory: facility improvements. Lunar Planet. Sci. XLVIII, The Woodlands, TX, March 20-24, Abstract 2653.