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Dust devils on mars
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Thomas, P. G. Gierasch, P. |
| Copyright Year | 1985 |
| Description | Large columns of dust have been discovered rising above plains on Mars. The storms are probably analogous to terrestrial dust devils, but their size indicates that they are more similar to tornadoes in intensity. They occur at locations where the soil has been strongly warmed by the Sun, and there the surface is smooth and fine grained. These are the same conditions that favor dust devils on Earth. Warm gas from the lowest atmospheric layer converges and rises in a thin column, with intense swirl developing at the edge of the column. In one area a mosaic of Viking images shows 97 vortices in a three day period. This represents a density of vortices of about one in each 900 square kilometers. Thus, these dust devils may be important in moving dust or starting over dust storms. |
| File Size | 94414 |
| Page Count | 2 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_19850018262 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t5gb6zx5b |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 1985-01-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Lunar And Planetary Exploration Viking Mars Program Vortices Northern Hemisphere Wind Velocity Dust Storms Summer Mars Surface Mars Atmosphere Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports Server (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aerodynamics Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
