Image Credit: NASA/JPL/ASU

Context image credit: NASA/JPL/MOLA
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Detailed information on this image is available at the THEMIS Data Releases website.

 

Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.

 

The atmosphere of Mars is a dynamic system. Water-ice clouds, fog, and hazes can make imaging the surface from space difficult. Dust storms can grow from local disturbances to global sizes, through which imaging is impossible. Seasonal temperature changes are the usual drivers in cloud and dust storm development and growth.

Eons of atmospheric dust storm activity has left its mark on the surface of Mars. Dust carried aloft by the wind has settledout on every available surface; sand dunes have been created and moved by centuries of wind; and the effect of continual sand-blasting has modified many regions of Mars, creating yardangs and other unusual surface forms.

This dust devil image is from the southern hemisphere of Mars. These tracks occur mainly on the northeast side of the topographic ridges. Of course, there are many exceptions, which makes understanding the dynamics that initiate the actual dust devil cyclone difficult.