Publication Date:
2018-11-05
Description:
In situ measurements of how air temperature near the surface responds to changing topography on other planets are rare. The Bagnold dunes were investigated by Mars Science Laboratory's Curiosity rover during its second winter in Gale crater on Mars. The effect of Bagnold dune slopes on the local microclimate air temperature, potential temperature, near-surface lapse rate, and how they change the variability of short-lived air temperature fluctuations is described. The oscillations with periods under 24 min are characterized using Fourier analysis. Comparing the sols during the Bagnold dunes exploration to a typical southern winter sol, we characterize the changes in temperature oscillations near the east facing High dune, the west facing Namib dune, as well as in the area between the dunes. Each of the regions had distinct signatures, with the west and east orientation of the dunes affecting the data. ©2018. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. This article has been contributed to by US Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.
Print ISSN:
0094-8276
Electronic ISSN:
1944-8007
Topics:
Geosciences
,
Physics
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