Sandstorms and eolian erosion on Mars.

Abstract

Erosion rates are calculated for Mars from first principles and calibrated from wind tunnel experiments. The deduced abrasion rates are higher than eolian erosion rates on the earth because of the higher threshold velocities on Mars but lower than the total erosion rates on the earth because of the absence of aqueous erosion processes on contemporary Mars. The high erosion rates imply that, for scale lengths of less than a few hundred kilometers, Mars may be viewed only part way back to its ancient history. Because the meteorology of Mars is position-dependent, erosion rates may vary greatly from place to place. Martian sandstorms may be characterized by frequent grain-grain collisions, and the grain velocities and cloud height may approach values implied by the Maxwell-Boltzmann velocity distribution.