Curiosity at the Bagnold Dunes, Gale Crater: Advances in Martian Eolian Processes

Space Sciences
1 February 2018
7 March 2019
During its ascent of Aeolis Mons in Gale crater, the Curiosity rover performed detailed investigations of the active Bagnold Dune Field to further our understanding of Martian eolian processes. This special issue welcomes studies of Martian eolian processes that utilize orbital and/or in situ data from Curiosity's 2015-2017 investigations of the dune field. Related papers on Martian eolian processes that contextualize the Bagnold Dune Field are also welcome. Find out more about this special collection in a blog post by one of the guest editors.
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Table of Contents

Free Access

Major Volatiles Evolved From Eolian Materials in Gale Crater

Jennifer C. Stern, Brad Sutter, P. Douglas Archer, Jennifer L. Eigenbrode, Amy C. McAdam, Heather B. Franz, Christine Knudson, Douglas W. Ming, Gregory Wong, Caroline Freissinet, Charles A. Malespin, Rafael Navarro-Gonzalez, Cyril Szopa, Paul R. Mahaffy,
Key Points

  • Eolian materials generally possessed more O2, CO2, and NO than sedimentary materials in Gale crater
  • The presence of CO2 that evolved at temperatures greater than 450 degrees Celsius is consistent with the presence of carbonate in the eolian materials
  • Differences in evolved gases between dust-bearing and dust-free eolian materials suggest that dust on Mars is enriched in volatiles

Free Access

Sand Grain Sizes and Shapes in Eolian Bedforms at Gale Crater, Mars

Catherine M. Weitz, Robert J. Sullivan, Mathieu G. A. Lapotre, Scott K. Rowland, John A. Grant, Mariah Baker, R. Aileen Yingst,
Key Points

  • Sand grains on eolian bedforms on Mars vary in size and shape depending upon whether the bedform is active or inactive
  • The size distribution of most active sands is narrow and very fine (50-150 micrometers) unless on a coarse-grained (250-500 micrometers size) ripple
  • Coarse-grained ripples at Gale have similar grain sizes to those at both Gusev crater and Meridiani Planum landing sites

Free Access

Bagnold Dunes Campaign Phase 2: Visible/Near-Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy of Longitudinal Ripple Sands

Jeffrey R. Johnson, James F. Bell III, Steve Bender, Edward Cloutis, Bethany Ehlmann, Abigail Fraeman, Olivier Gasnault, Sylvestre Maurice, Patrick Pinet, Lucy Thompson, Danika Wellington, Roger C. Wiens,
Key Points

  • Bagnold Phase 2 sands exhibit higher 535-nm band depths and red/blue ratios and lower 600-/700-nm ratios than Bagnold Phase 1 sands
  • Phase 2 sands contain a greater amount of redder, ferric materials, likely owing to minor hematite contamination from nearby bedrock

Open Access

Water Abundance of Dunes in Gale Crater, Mars From Active Neutron Experiments and Implications for Amorphous Phases

T. S. J. Gabriel, C. Hardgrove, S. Czarnecki, E. B. Rampe, W. Rapin, C. N. Achilles, D. Sullivan, S. Nowicki, L. Thompson, M. Litvak, I. Mitrofanov, R. T. Downs,
Key Points

  • Active neutron experiments show active dunes are the driest material in Gale crater
  • Bagnold Dunes are dehydrated throughout; however, the presence of aqueously altered phases could not be ruled out
  • Modeling of amorphous compositions shows the origin to be predominantly volcanic, potentially involving multiple or evolving sources

Free Access

The Bagnold Dunes in Southern Summer: Active Sediment Transport on Mars Observed by the Curiosity Rover

Mariah M. Baker, Mathieu G. A. Lapotre, Michelle E. Minitti, Claire E. Newman, Robert Sullivan, Catherine M. Weitz, David M. Rubin, Ashwin R. Vasavada, Nathan T. Bridges, Kevin W. Lewis,
Key Points

  • Curiosity's imaging campaigns in the Bagnold Dune Field reveal that impact ripples migrate up to 3 cm/sol during southern summer
  • Impact ripples generally migrated toward the southwest within a 70 degree range about their mean migration direction
  • Sand flux estimates are consistent with low-flux saltation occurring below the fluid threshold of sand transport

Open Access

Morphologic Diversity of Martian Ripples: Implications for Large-Ripple Formation

M. G. A. Lapotre, R. C. Ewing, C. M. Weitz, K. W. Lewis, M. P. Lamb, B. L. Ehlmann, D. M. Rubin,
Key Points

  • Martian ripples are diverse in morphology, dynamics, and activity
  • Large Martian ripples belong to a family of bedforms that forms when a significant fraction of sediment transport occurs near the bed
  • Near-bed-transport bedforms are found across environments and planets and may prove useful quantitative paleoenvironment indicators

Free Access

Chemical Diversity of Sands Within the Linear and Barchan Dunes of the Bagnold Dunes, Gale Crater, as Revealed by APXS Onboard Curiosity

C. D. O'Connell-Cooper, L. M. Thompson, J. G. Spray, J. A. Berger, S. J. VanBommel, R. Gellert, N. I. Boyd, E. DeSouza,
Key Points

  • Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer results reveal compositional similarity between basaltic Bagnold barchan and linear sands (Gale Crater)
  • Evidence of mineral segregation, and mafic element concentration in coarser fractions, along active ripple crests is observed
  • Linear sands show evidence for the concentration of a Cr-Ti mineral phase, previously undetected in the barchan dunes

Free Access

Martian Eolian Dust Probed by ChemCam

J. Lasue, A. Cousin, P.-Y. Meslin, N. Mangold, R. C. Wiens, G. Berger, E. Dehouck, O. Forni, W. Goetz, O. Gasnault, W. Rapin, S. Schroeder, A. Ollila, J. Johnson, S. Le Mouélic, S. Maurice, R. Anderson, D. Blaney, B. Clark, S. M. Clegg, C. d'Uston, C. Fabre, N. Lanza, M. B. Madsen, J. Martin-Torres, N. Melikechi, H. Newsom, V. Sautter, M. P. Zorzano,
Key Points

  • The martian eolian dust chemical composition is homogeneous at the submillimeter scale
  • The dust composition is different from the Aeolis Palus soils and Bagnold sands with a larger content of FeO and TiO2 and lower hydration
  • Although dust may be a contributor to the amorphous component of soils, its composition indicates that the two materials are not equivalent

Open Access

Sand Mineralogy Within the Bagnold Dunes, Gale Crater, as Observed In Situ and From Orbit

E. B. Rampe, M. G. A. Lapotre, T. F. Bristow, R. E. Arvidson, R. V. Morris, C. N. Achilles, C. Weitz, D. F. Blake, D. W. Ming, S. M. Morrison, D. T. Vaniman, S. J. Chipera, R. T. Downs, J. P. Grotzinger, R. M. Hazen, T. S. Peretyazhko, B. Sutter, V. Tu, A. S. Yen, B. Horgan, N. Castle, P. I. Craig, D. J. Des Marais, J. Farmer, R. Gellert, A. C. McAdam, J. M. Morookian, P. C. Sarrazin, A. H. Treiman,
Key Points

  • The mineralogy of active eolian sands were measured by the Curiosity rover at two locations in the Bagnold Dune Field in Gale crater, Mars
  • X-ray diffraction data from the CheMin instrument of two sand samples indicate differences in plagioclase and olivine abundances
  • The mineralogy derived from CheMin and CRISM can be used in concert to characterize sediment sorting and sources across the Bagnold Dunes

Open Access

Curiosity's Investigation of the Bagnold Dunes, Gale Crater: Overview of the Two-Phase Scientific Campaign and Introduction to the Special Collection

M. G. A. Lapotre, E. B. Rampe,
Key Points

  • Curiosity's two-phase campaign at the Bagnold Dunes on Mars was the first in situ investigation of an active extraterrestrial dune field
  • Curiosity investigated the morphology, activity, physical properties, and chemical and mineral composition of windblown sand
  • Results from the Bagnold Dunes campaign define a new understanding of Martian eolian processes at subdune scales

Free Access

The Effect of Bagnold Dunes Slopes on the Short Timescale Air Temperature Fluctuations at Gale Crater on Mars

Nina Miller, Manuel de la Torre Juárez, Leslie Tamppari,
Key Points

  • Frequency regimes for convective versus topographic air temperature oscillations are found at Gale crater's surface layer
  • Unique air temperature and inversion dynamics on Sols 1222-1239 were caused by local slopes at the Namib dune
  • Air temperature oscillation frequencies and regime transitions from neutral to convective are modulated by slopes grade and orientation