Wind Streaks

Bright wind streaks are present in the lee of craters and other obstacles in this image, located in Sinus Sabaeus, near the Martian equator. These streaks indicate that the local winds blow from the northeast (upper right in the image). The brightness of the streaks indicates that either bright material has been deposited in the lee of the craters, or that the surface has eroded preferentially in the lee of craters, exposing an underlying bright material. Because the streaks are bright regardless of the surrounding surface brightness, the first hypothesis is most likely. The streaks probably all represent deposits of the same bright material that settled out of the atmosphere in the wind shelter provided by topographic peaks.