Images from the rover’s pioneering encounter with sand dunes on Mars constrain wind speeds required to move sand in the thin Martian atmosphere.
sand
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Boulders Limit Transport of Sand and Gravel in Steep Rivers
Mountain rivers and streams actively reshape landscapes by eroding material from uplands and depositing it in lowlands. Scientists can now predict this transport in very steep streams.
Posted inFeatures
Building Sandbars in the Grand Canyon
Annual controlled floods from one of America's largest dams are rebuilding the sandbars of the iconic Colorado River.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Exploring How Wind Blows Sand on Dunes
Sand dunes migrate—so why haven’t some budged in 60 years?
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Wave Ripples Spaced by Flow Downstream of Ripple Peaks
The well-known ratio between sand ripple spacing and wave-driven flow oscillations may be dictated by flow dynamics downstream of ripple crests.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Exploring How Water Flow Affects Bed Forms in Different Environments
In a flat sand bed, water creates undulating features.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Modeling Sand Grains in Water
Scientist creates a numerical model that explores sediment transport.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Where Does the Bed of a River Change from Gravel to Sand?
Analysis of the Fraser River suggests that riverbed sediments shift abruptly depending on river slope changes and water speed.