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    Dust production by abrasion of aeolian basalt sands: analogue for Martian dust

    Bristow, Charlie S. and Moller, T.H. (2018) Dust production by abrasion of aeolian basalt sands: analogue for Martian dust. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets 123 (10), pp. 2713-2731. ISSN 2169-9097.

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    Abstract

    Dust is nearly ubiquitous on Mars, covering much of the planet’s surface, having been redistributed by dust storms. Analysis of dust via landed instrumentation indicates a basaltic composition for its protolith; the same is interpreted for the dark dune sands encountered at rover field sites. In this paper, we used samples of aeolian sands derived from basaltic volcanoes in an experiment to simulate dust production from basalt dune sands within an abrasion chamber. In addition, we used samples from gypsum dunes because gypsum is found within dune fields on the northern plains of Mars. The results, expressed as weight % of sample reduced to dust, show a remarkably broad range over four orders of magnitude. Aeolian abrasion of basalt sands can produce similar amounts of dust, as is the case for some desert sands on Earth. Some plausible Mars analogue materials can produce large amounts of dust, suggesting that aeolian movement of basaltic sand, and volcanic sediments on the surface of Mars is a potential source of fine-grained sediment or dust.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Article
    Additional Information: This is the peer reviewed version of the article, which has been published in final form at the link above. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.
    Keyword(s) / Subject(s): Mars, saltation, soil, dust, basalt, sand, particles
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Natural Sciences
    Research Centres and Institutes: Earth and Planetary Sciences, Institute of
    Depositing User: Charlie Bristow
    Date Deposited: 12 Oct 2018 12:11
    Last Modified: 02 Aug 2023 17:44
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/24450

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