Yardangs are elongate wind erosion features that occur at all scales from micro-yardangs (centimetres in height, up to a metre in length) to meso-yardangs (metres in height, ten or so metres in length) and ultimately mega-yardangs (tens of metres in height, hundreds of metres of kilometres in length).
Image 1: Pseudo-true colour, oblique projected HRSC image of mega-yardangs south of Olympus Mons being eroded into the Medusae Fossae Formation. HRSC Image Archive
Posted by Mary Bourke on September 13, 2013
https://planetarygeomorphology.wordpress.com/2013/09/13/yardangs-in-australia-and-on-mars/
A yardang is a topographical feature that has been carved out of a surface by the wind. The word is derived from the Turkic word yar, which means ridge or steep bank. On Earth they are most commonly found in deserts where there is a sand supply, which abrades the surface when moved by the wind, and soft sedimentary rocks that the sand easily erodes. Over time, the sand wears down the surface into beautiful streamlined shapes that are aligned with the prevailing sand-moving winds.
Image 1: Emmenides Dorsum on Mars. Image captured with the Thermal Emission Imaging System visual camera (THEMIS VIS V12350012), taken on Sept. 26, 2004. Yardangs reveal that this surface has been wind-sculpted and planed off by ~450 m.
Posted by Mary Bourke on September 10, 2013
https://planetarygeomorphology.wordpress.com/2013/09/10/yardangs-on-earth-and-mars/
Soon after landing at Meridiani Planum the Opportunity rover imaged some curious wind erosion features. These were the haematite concretions commonly known as “blueberries” standing out from the substrate on stalks up to a cm or so in length. Good examples were seen at Eagle Crater, others were imaged at Fram Crater (Image 1). In places, the concretion has protected the underlying substrate from erosion. Sediments hosting the hematitic concretions have been eroded, leaving some concretions perched on small stalks. Several rocks at the Spirit landing site also show pedestals or fingers projecting away from rock surfaces.
Image 1: Two approximate true colour Pancam images of a boulder in Fram Crater, Meridiani Planum showing haematite concretions with a residual tail or stalk. The circular depression in the lower panel is from drilling by the RAT instrument. It is 45 mm in diameter. Top panel Sol085B_P2532_1. Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell. Bottom panel image Sol088B_P2542_1. Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell.
Posted by Mary Bourke on September 10, 2013
https://planetarygeomorphology.wordpress.com/2013/09/10/meridiani-on-the-murray/
Planetary Geomorphology Image of the Month 