Geology Club Seminar

The Curiosity rover is currently traversing the informally-named Bagnold dune field at Gale Crater on Mars, making the first in situ observations of an active dune field on another planet in the history of mankind. These observations complement orbital datasets and allow us to test our understanding of Martian aeolian processes. In particular, this presentation will combine rover-based and orbital datasets to constrain the morphology and mineral composition of Martian wind-blown sands. In the first half of this presentation, I will focus on the discovery of a ripple-like bedform on Mars that is foreign to terrestrial desert landscapes, and its implications for the interpretation of the sedimentary rock record. In the second half, I will report on the first quantitative ground-truthing of CRISM-based (Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars) determination of surface mineral composition and implications for the fractionation of various mineral phases by wind transport on Mars.