Winds on Mars may have helped shape its canyons
MAR 10, 2015
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.028694
Science : Water may not have been the dominant force that carved out the numerous canyons on the surface of Mars. From their study of 36 bedrock canyons in northeast Chile, Jonathan Perkins of the University of California, Santa Cruz, and colleagues found that those exposed to strong, sand-bearing winds grew 10 times faster than those shielded from the wind by mountains. Although Mars differs from Earth in atmosphere, gravity, and rock types, its winds could also have sandblasted and scoured its surface long after its water disappeared. If so, the group’s findings could influence estimates of how much water once flowed on Mars.
© 2015 American Institute of Physics
