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Ripple Trap
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Caption:
3 April 2006
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows the margin of a lava flow on a cratered plain in the Athabasca Vallis region of Mars. Remarkably, the cratered plain in this scene is essentially free of bright, windblown ripples. Conversely, the lava flow apparently acted as a trap for windblown materials, illustrated by the presence of the light-toned, wave-like texture over much of the flow. That the lava flow surface trapped windblown sand and granules better than the cratered plain indicates that the flow surface has a rougher texture at a scale too small to resolve in this image.
Location near
: 10.7°N, 204.5°W
Image width
: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)
Illumination from
: lower left
Season
: Northern Winter
Cataloging Keywords:
| Name | Value | Additional Values |
|---|---|---|
| Target | Mars | |
| System | ||
| Target Type | Planet | |
| Mission | Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) | |
| Instrument Host | Mars Global Surveyor | |
| Host Type | Orbiter | |
| Instrument | Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) | |
| Detector | ||
| Extra Keywords | Crater, Grayscale | |
| Acquisition Date | ||
| Release Date | 2006-04-03 | |
| Date in Caption | 2006-04-03 | |
| Image Credit | NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems | |
| Source | photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08031 | |
| Identifier | PIA08031 | |
