Observational evidence for a dry dust-wind origin of Mars seasonal dark flows

Abstract

Seasonal flows on warm slopes, or recurring slope lineae ("RSL"), have been presented as strong evidence for currently flowing water on Mars. This assumption was supported by a correlation between activity and warm temperatures, and by the spectral identification of hydrated salts. Here we first demonstrate that salts spectral identification is not robust, and that flow activity occurs on a wider range of seasons and slope orientations than previously thought, ruling out liquid water as a probable contributor. We then show that morphology, location and timing of flow activity is fully consistent with the removal and deposition of bright dust above darker underlying surfaces occurring notably in relation with seasonal dust storm activity. Mars recurring slope lineae are thus consistent with dust movements typical of present-day dry planet Mars.

References in corpus (4)

• Dust aerosol, clouds, and the atmospheric optical depth record over 5 Mars years of the Mars Exploration Rover mission
• Formation of recurring slope lineae on Mars by rarefied gas-triggered granular flows
• Mars Express measurements of surface albedo changes over 2004 - 2010
• Yearly and seasonal variations of low albedo surfaces on Mars in the OMEGA/MEx dataset: Constraints on aerosols properties and dust deposits

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Deliquescence probability maps of Mars and key limiting factors using GCM model calculations
• OMEGA/Mars Express: A new martian atmospheric dust hunter
• Can we constrain the origin of Mars' recurring slope lineae using atmospheric observations?
• Multidisciplinary analysis of pit craters at Hale Crater, Mars