On Mars, as on Earth, dust storms can contribute to
environmental change. Sometimes, though rarely, dust storms on
Mars can be fierce enough to blanket the whole planet in a dusty
haze for weeks, as the Mariner 9 spacecraft found out. Local and
regional dust storms are much more common, and in polar regions
can affect the rate at which seasonal frost weather patterns evolve.
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Phoenix Landing Area Viewed by Mars Color Imager - 05/06/2008
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Images and Captions
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Mars Rovers Battle Severe Dust Storm - 07/24/2007
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Full Res GIF (2.5 MB)
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Springtime North Polar Dust Storms 12/12/2002
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High Res Images
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Dust Storms of 2001
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Snapshot of Southern Spring Dust Storm Activity
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Mid-Winter Dust Storms Near Hellas Planitia
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Recent Mars/Earth Dust Storms Compared: A dust
storm the size of Spain rages on Earth, blowing a dense cloud of
Saharan sand out into the Atlantic ocean. This storm provides a
nice comparison to the windy dynamics on Mars, where a north
polar dust storm extends out in the same pattern.
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High Res TIFF (3 MB)
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Dust Devils |
Dust devils are spinning columns of wind that move across the
landscape, pick up dust, and look somewhat like miniature tornadoes. Dust
devils are a common occurrence in dry and desert landscapes on Earth, as
well as Mars. They form when the ground heats up during the day, warming
the air immediately above the surface. As the warmed air nearest the
surface begins to rise, it spins. The spinning column begins to move across
the surface and picks up loose dust. The dust makes the vortex visible. On
Earth, dust devils typically last for only a few minutes.
When dust devils pass over the surface of Mars, they leave dark,
criss-crossing streaks on the land. They can cross over hills, run straight
across dunes and ripples, and go through fields of house-sized boulders.
The dust devils remove bright dust from the terrain, revealing a darker
surface underneath.
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Dust Devil Streaks 06 Feb 2003
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Mangala Fossa
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Dust Devil Tracks
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A Mid-Summer's Dust Devil
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High Res GIF (376 kB)
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Layers & Dust Devil in Melas Chasma: A
bright, circular dust devil casts its shadow to the left. Beneath it,
the dark floor of Melas Chasma is covered with many parallel
ridges and grooves.
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High Res GIF (680 kB)
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Dust Devil Streaks in Terra Sirenum: A dust devil
can be seen in action in southwestern Terra Sirenum near
63°S, 168°W, an area that has seen the activity of so
many dust devils that it looks like a plate of dark gray spaghetti.
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High Res GIF (2 MB)
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Dust Devil Streaks in Argyre Planitia: Dark streaks
on the rippled flats of Argyre Planitia cover an area 3 km by 5 km
(1.9 by 3.1 miles) at a latitude of 51°S.
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High Res GIF (805 kB)
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Dust Devil Streaks in Promethei Terra: Dust devil
tracks in an area approximately 3 km by 5 km in Promethei Terra at
a latitude of 58°S.
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High Res GIF (960 kB)
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Dust Devil Streaks in Promethei Terra: A dust devil
was caught in the act of creating a swirly, dark streak!
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High Res GIF (145 kB)
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