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| Sand ripples on Mars (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona) |
Our latest article published in Nature Communications demonstrates that local dune topography exerts a strong influence on wind speed and direction above the surface of Mars. Ripple movement likely reflects steered wind direction for certain dune ridge shapes. These findings highlight the need to first model winds at high resolution before inferring regional wind patterns from ripple movement or dune orientations on the surface of Mars today.
The full open access article is available here.