 | Dark dunes on mars: analyses on origin, morphology, and mineralogical composition of the dark material in martian craters: dis. … dr. rer. nat. / Tirsch D.; Freien Universität Berlin; Deutsches Zentrum für Luft-und Raumfahrt. - Köln: DLR, 2008. - xi, 146, iii p.: ill., graph. - Bibliogr.: p.126-146. - (Forschungsbericht; 09-8) - ISSN 1434-8454
|
List of Figures ................................................ VI
List of Tables .................................................. X
List of Abbreviations .......................................... XI
Chapter I: INTRODUCTION AND MOTIVATION ........................ 1
Chapter II: Planet Mars - The Background ....................... 4
2.1. Martian Geology and Topography ............................. 5
2.1.1. Volcanism ........................................... 8
2.1.2. Impact Cratering and Dating Method .................. 9
2.1.3. Erosion and Weathering ............................. 10
2.2. Martian Climate ........................................... 12
2.2.1. Atmosphere ......................................... 12
2.2.2. Wind ............................................... 12
2.2.3. Water .............................................. 14
Chapter III: Aeolian Processes on Mars ......................... 15
3.1. The Physics of Particle Motion ............................ 15
3.2. Evidence for Recent Aeolian Transport on Mars ............. 21
3.3. Sand Sources, Formation Processes, and Bed Forms on
Mars and Earth ............................................ 23
3.4. Areas of Dark Material Distribution ....................... 27
Chapter IV: Datasets, Processing, and Methods ................. 30
4.1. HRSC Data ................................................. 30
4.1.1 Selection of Appropriate Craters - The Areas
Investigated ........................................ 31
4.2. Visual Interpretation of MOC Data ......................... 33
4.3. Derivation of Brightness Temperature from THEMIS Data ..... 34
4.4. TES Data - Thermal Inertia Derivation and Theoretical
Background ................................................ 35
4.5. Spectral Analysis of OMEGA Data ........................... 38
4.5.1 Mineral Detection - The Ratio Technique ............. 39
4.6. Additional Orbital Data Sets .............................. 44
4.7. Wind Direction Data ....................................... 46
4.7.1. Modelled Wind Field Data - The Mars Climate
Database ........................................... 46
4.7.2. Morphology-Deduced Wind Directions ................. 48
4.8. The Resultant Database .................................... 50
Chapter V: Analysis of Dark Material - The Intra-Crater
Deposits .......................................... 52
5.1. Morphology of Dark Intra-Crater Material .................. 52
5.2. Dark Layers - A Possible Local Source? .................... 60
5.3. Mineralogical Composition ................................. 68
5.3.1. Uncertainties ...................................... 69
5.3.2. Results and Discussion ............................. 70
5.4. Assessing Dune Activeness by a Wind Direction Analysis? ... 82
5.5. Analysis of Thermal Properties ............................ 85
5.5.1. Optical and Thermal Thickness ...................... 85
5.5.2. Surface Brightness Temperature ..................... 86
5.5.3. Thermal Inertia .................................... 88
5.5.3.1 Uncertainties .............................. 90
5.5.4. Results ............................................ 94
5.6. Combined Interpretation and Comparison of Results ........ 100
5.7. The Immobilization of Dunes - Possible Types of
Consolidation ............................................ 108
Chapter VI: Origin and Evolution of Dark Material ............ 113
6.1. Possible Scenarios of Origin ............................. 114
6.2. Chronology of Evolution - From Deposition to
Distribution ............................................. 119
Chapter VII: Summary and Outlook .............................. 122
BlBLIOGRAPHY .................................................. 126
CURRICULUM VITAE ................................................ i
List of Conference Contributions and Publications .............. ii
|
|
