All articles tagged with #wind erosion
NASA’s Perseverance rover captured an image on May 13 (Sol 1859) with the Mastcam-Z cameras showing a small stack of rocks on the Martian surface. Scientists say it’s more likely the stack formed by wind erosion (or ancient water exposing and splitting a rock) rather than a deliberate or human-made arrangement, fitting Mars’ wind-dominated geology.
A dark patch in Mars’ Utopia Planitia, made of ash and volcanic rocks, has slowly expanded since it was first photographed by Viking 2 in 1976. ESA’s Mars Express captured new images in 2024 showing the shadow creeping southward by roughly 320 km (about 6.5 km per year). Scientists think Martian winds likely move the ash or blow away dust covering it, but the exact cause is still unknown.
Researchers in China use lab-grown cyanobacteria to form a biomass-rich crust on loose desert sand, binding grains together to create a thin, stable soil layer that reduces wind erosion, helps retain moisture, and concentrates nutrients to support seedling growth. Trials near the Taklamakan Desert show crusts stabilizing sand in about 10–16 months, potentially accelerating restoration from decades to years, though scaling faces challenges like protecting the crust from traffic and climate variability. The work, published in Soil Biology and Biochemistry and Geoderma, links desert control with longer-term plant-based restoration, but isn’t a stand-alone fix for desertification.
Scientists in China used lab-grown cyanobacteria to bind loose desert sand into a thin, stable crust within about 10–16 months, creating a surface that holds moisture and nutrients and supports seedling growth. This speeds desert restoration from decades to years and could reduce wind-driven erosion, but scaling the method beyond test plots faces challenges such as site selection, local microbe suitability, and protection from traffic; long-term monitoring is needed and crusts cannot solve problems like overgrazing or water mismanagement.
ESA's Mars Express HRSC image reveals a string of yardangs—long, wind-sculpted ridges—along the Medusae Fossae Formation near Eumenides Dorsum, illustrating persistent winds eroding Martian rocks and helping scientists infer modern near-surface conditions on the Red Planet.
ESA's Mars Express imagery reveals wind-sculpted yardangs in the Medusae Fossae Formation near Eumenides Dorsum, showing how Martian winds carve ridges and overlap with a recent lava flow and a nearby impact crater—a rare snapshot of wind erosion, volcanism, and impact in one frame.
A new study using ground-penetrating radar has revealed that the massive "star dunes" in Morocco are much younger than previously thought, with their formation occurring over the last 1,000 years. Surprisingly, these dunes are also on the move, being pushed westward by steady winds at a rate of about a foot and a half per year, highlighting the potential impact on infrastructure in the area.