In the current cold and arid Martian epoch, wind driven processes have likely been the dominant mode of erosion and landscape modification. Sand fluxes comparable to Earth’s have been observed on Mars through the migration of ripples and dunes across the surface [1, 2]. The driving force behind the movement of such features is the impact of saltating sand sized particles. These impacts result in the abrasion of silicate minerals and the generation of dust [3].

Here we report preliminary results from experiments designed to test the dependence of mineral abrasion on temperature. We simulated the saltation of sand sized (125 – 300 µm) olivine, pyroxene, feldspar, opal and quartz, at temperatures between 193 K and 293 K – typical of the surface of Mars. Our 75 day experiment was equivalent to ~ 6 years of continuous sand mobilisation at close to threshold wind speeds (~ 1 ms-1). This resulted in the comminution of between 4.0 ± 0.4 and 13.6 ± 0.8 % by mass of each sample to below 125 µm. Importantly, each of the minerals tested produced significantly (p .05) less fines at 193 K than at 293 K, with a mean decrease of ~ 22 %.

These results suggest that the contribution of dust generated from saltation on Mars is temperature dependant, potentially linking dust generation to obliquity and other Martian temperature controls such as atmospheric composition and solar luminosity. There may also be implications for Martian drilling campaigns; the increase in resistance to the abrasion of minerals at low temperatures highlighted in this study could lead to slower than expected rates of penetration on Mars.



[1] Bridges, N. T. et al. (2012), Nature 485, 339. [2] Silvestro, S. et al. (2020), JOGR: Planets 125(8) e2020JE006446. [3] Merrison, J., (2012), Aeolian Research 4, 1-16.