BRIGHT member Ariana Boyd is currently researching the source(s) of sand in the Aeolis Dorsa region of Mars. During her mapping of sand in this region she noticed a number of localities that appeared to be eroding dark material that is likely sand. She requested a high-resolution image of one of these localities via the HiWish feature on the HiRISE website (hirise.lpl.arizona.edu). An image of this area with a 23 cm/px resolution was returned that strongly supports this hypothesis (see image).
This image shows talus slopes– trails of falling sediments– that originate at eroding layers of dark bedrock. This locally-derived sediment is one of few localities on Mars where an apparent source of at least some sand has been identified.
HiRISE image ESP_051780_1725 (click here)
