Goals & objectives the overriding objective of this mdap proposal is to enhance the scientific return from current and future missions to mars. Scientifically, the proposed effort is driven by two…

This federal contract award NNX15AM37G was granted by the Shared Services Center, a civilian agency, to the University of Arizona, doing business as the Arizona Board of Regents, to enhance the scientific return from current and future missions to Mars. The $298,418 grant is focused on quantitatively determining trends in rates and directions of aeolian (wind-driven) bedform migration, volumetric sediment fluxes, abrasion rates, and turnover times under current Martian climatic conditions. The University will analyze existing high-resolution imagery and digital terrain models to assess bedform mobility and produce detailed morphometric analysis of select active sites. This research is highly relevant to NASA's Mars exploration efforts, as it will improve predictions of surface characteristics from orbit. The contract does not have a set-aside designation, and the University of Arizona is the prime awardee.

Goals & objectives the overriding objective of this mdap proposal is to enhance the scientific return from current and future missions to mars. Scientifically, the proposed effort is driven by two items: there is a need for a detailed understanding of global aeolian bedform migration rates, directions, and volumetric sand fluxes on mars: IT is now known unambiguously that wind-driven bedform activity is occurring at scattered sites across mars today, based on surface and orbital observation of martian ripple and dune mobility. However, many of these reports are only based on a few observation sets separated by 1-2 mars-year-intervals, yielding preliminary but incomplete information. Moreover, volumetric sand fluxes, which are independent of dune size, have only been documented for two sites. Because of the successes of orbital assets providing long-term high-resolution data, particularly stereo and multi-temporal images acquired by the high resolution imaging science experiment (hirise) camera, there is a timely opportunity to conduct data analysis in this area of research, which may prove vital in unlocking the secrets of mars' aeolian processes. A reasonable assessment of dune construction times and aeolian erosion rates as they relate to the present martian climate is lacking: all bedforms possess a characteristic time period referred to as the reconstitution or turnover time, which is the period a bedforms takes to travel its own length. Given a sample of these estimated times, one can compare these with results of climate models, such as modeled obliquity or milankovitch cycles (and their associated effects on dune forming wind regimes). Likewise, the sand flux brought on by ripple migration can provide insight into abrasion rates of the martian surface that can assist with a deeper understanding of the dominant non-catastrophic surface erosion processes operating on mars today. Contemporary abrasion rates have relevance for ongoing surface operations and future missions to mars, including the search for ancient life. Primary objective: quantitatively determine trends in rates and directions of aeolian bedform migration, volumetric sediment fluxes, abrasion rates, and turnover times under current climatic conditions. In order to produce constraints on the issues above, we propose the following approach using existing data in the planetary data system (PDS). Task 1A: analyze the current inventory of dune sites with CO-located hirise digital terrain models (dtms), stereo coverage, and repeat hirise images for initial assessment of bedform mobility. Task 1B: construct new dtms and update old ones for sites of known dune migration. Repeat hirise dtms will be built for roughly 10 wide-spread sites. Task 2: using the data products generated from task 1, quantify migration rates, directions, and dune crest fluxes on annual and (where available) seasonal time scales. For sites, with repeat dtms, determine if dunes are in steady state with their environment and report any measurable topographic changes. Task 3: for a select dozen active sites, detailed morphometric analysis will be conducted, including reptation and total fluxes, turnover times, and abrasion rate calculations. This study will quantitatively assess global- and local-scale trends in aeolian activity and thus is highly relevant to this program, as IT will: enhance the scientific return from missions to mars conducted by NASA and increase the predictive accuracy of surface characteristics of mars from orbit.