Research Methodology of Martian Aeolian Geomorphology

Martian exploration is the focus and hot topic of deep space exploration, and China implemented the first Martian exploration Program in 2020. Aeolian process is the most extensive and active landform process on the surface of Mars, and has been an important part of Martian research. Sustainable development of Martian aeolian geomorphology research requires the support of theoretical system and research methodology, and research methodology is a key issue when field observations are impossible. We analyzed the research methods of Martian aeolian geomorphology from three aspects: methodology, approach, and application of modern technology. Methodology must focus on the dialectical unity of induction and deduction, reductionism and holism. Research approach includes exploration and numerical simulation, and Mars-like aeolian geomorphology study on Earth is also a common approach. Taking full advantage of remote sensing observations and detection technologies is an important basis for the development of Martian aeolian research. Simulation experiments have been an important part of aeolian geomorphology research. Since the 1980s, the United States, Europe, and Japan have successively built Martian wind tunnels to study various aircrafts in Martian atmosphere. In the absence of field observation, wind tunnel experiment and numerical simulation play an important role in studying the evolution and formation process of aeolian landform and the Martian environment.     

风沙地貌形态动力学研究进展

风沙地貌是广泛分布于干旱、半干旱,甚至部分湿润地区,由风力作用形成的一种地貌类型。风沙地貌学是研究在风力作用下物质运动形成的地表形态特征、空间组合规律及其形成演变的科学,是地貌学中以风为外营力形成的地貌为对象的分支学科。风是风沙地貌学研究的基础,其贯穿整个风沙地貌学研究。风况决定了风沙地貌的形态特征、空间组合特征和演化过程,同时,沙丘表面气流和风沙流控制沙丘的形态演化过程和移动过程。风沙地貌经过100多年的发展,在沙丘形态特征、动力学过程等方面取得了长足发展。从风沙地貌观测方法、分析方法和形态动力学角度出发,总结了近年来风沙地貌形态、形成风况以及动力学方面的研究进展。随着新技术的发展,全站仪、三维地形扫描仪等新的形态观测设备开始应用于风沙地貌形态测量,使得大范围风沙地貌形态精准测量成为可能,为风沙地貌形态动力学研究提供精确的地形特征资料。同时,三维超声风速仪等高频风速观测仪器也广泛应用于风沙地貌动力学观测,从而探讨风沙地貌形态—近地层气流的互馈机制。但是,针对具体的分析方法,如风况与沙丘形态的对应关系,近地层气流的分析方法以及形态—气流互馈关系等方面,目前还没有好的解决办法。     

Aeolian Geomorphology in the Era of Deep Space Exploration

The exploration of "Deep Sea, Deep Earth and Deep Space" provides opportunities and challenges for the development of geoscience, and geographical science begins to meet the climax of deep space exploration represented by Mars. In China, Martian exploration will be launched in 2020, which will carry out global and comprehensive surrounding exploration of Mars, patrol detection in some local areas, researchers need to be well prepared for the study of planetary geosciences including aeolian geomorphology based on these coming data. Aeolian geomorphology is divided into three stages based on the development history and trend: classical research focusing on single dune observation, modern research with earth system ideology and future research mainly on extra-terrestrial planets. The characteristics of each developing stage were summarized, and we believe that the planetary aeolian research will come naturally. Then, the development and achievement of planetary aeolian research are summarized, the existing problems and future developing trend were also discussed here. Study shows that there are many types of aeolian landforms on Mars, Venus and Titan, and the aeolian process is the most active modern surface process. Aeolian geomorphology in different planets has good similarity, but the difference is also obvious, which means that they have similar formation mechanism, but different formation and evolution conditions, therefore, the theory of aeolian geomorphology will be improved and enriched gradually through the comparative study on different planets. There are obvious advantages in revealing the formation laws and mechanism of aeolian geomorphology in extraterrestrial planets because of the simple formation conditions, and the research of aeolian geomorphology in the era of deep space exploration is in the ascendant.     

火星古湖泊研究的现状、问题与展望

火星表面的古湖泊地貌能够反映火星古气候和古环境的特征及变化,对于研究火星是否曾经存在宜居环境具有重要意义.随着中国火星探测计划的提出和实施,详细了解火星古湖泊的研究进展尤为重要.总结了火星古湖泊的研究现状,重点阐述了当前对火星古湖泊的沉积地貌、矿物成分、形成年龄、分布特征等方面的研究进展.在综合分析前人研究成果的基础上,提出火星古湖泊研究中存在的主要问题,认为未来应着重在古湖泊的详细调查与地质填图、古湖泊的后期改造作用、其他类型古湖泊的识别分析以及火星与地球古湖泊的对比等方面开展研究.      

Ancient Martian aeolian processes and palaeomorphology reconstructed from the Stimson formation on the lower slope of Aeolis Mons,Gale crater,Mars

Reconstruction of the palaeoenvironmental context of Martian sedimentary rocks is central to studies of ancient Martian habitability and regional palaeoclimate history. This paper reports the analysis of a distinct aeolian deposit preserved in Gale crater, Mars, and evaluates its palaeomorphology, the processes responsible for its deposition, and its implications for Gale crater geological history and regional palaeoclimate. Whilst exploring the sedimentary succession cropping out on the northern flank of Aeolis Mons, Gale crater, the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity encountered a decametre‐thick sandstone succession, named the Stimson formation, unconformably overlying lacustrine deposits of the Murray formation. The sandstone contains sand grains characterized by high roundness and sphericity, and cross‐bedding on the order of 1 m in thickness, separated by sub‐horizontal bounding surfaces traceable for tens of metres across outcrops. The cross‐beds are composed of uniform thickness cross‐laminations interpreted as wind‐ripple strata. Cross‐sets are separated by sub‐horizontal bounding surfaces traceable for tens of metres across outcrops that are interpreted as dune migration surfaces. Grain characteristics and presence of wind‐ripple strata indicate deposition of the Stimson formation by aeolian processes. The absence of features characteristic of damp or wet aeolian sediment accumulation indicate deposition in a dry aeolian system. Reconstruction of the palaeogeomorphology suggests that the Stimson dune field was composed largely of simple sinuous crescentic dunes with a height of ca 10 m, and wavelengths of ca 150 m, with local development of complex dunes. Analysis of cross‐strata dip azimuths indicates that the general dune migration direction and hence net sediment transport was towards the north‐east. The juxtaposition of a dry aeolian system unconformably above the lacustrine Murray formation represents starkly contrasting palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic conditions. Stratigraphic relationships indicate that this transition records a significant break in time, with the Stimson formation being deposited after the Murray formation and stratigraphically higher Mount Sharp group rocks had been buried, lithified and subsequently eroded.     

Properties of electrostatic aggregates and their possible presence on Mars

Experiments indicate that at the high wind velocities characteristic of portions of the Martian surface, sand-sized particles will break down to silt and clay, which will then inevitably form sand-sized aggregates. Basalt and olivine aggregates held together by electrostatics were produced in an eolian abrasion device and their mass properties studied. It was difficult to examine aggregates after formation, as they separate and reform with very little handling, since electrostatic binding forces are quite weak.It is shown that aggregates range from 60 to more than 600 μm in diameter, that they generally are spheroidal in shape and become more elongate with increasing size, and that they tend to be layered with the inner portions more tightly bound than outer layers. After about one-and-one-half years, some aggregates lose their charge which is replaced with moisture; the aggregates retain their original sizes and shapes. None of the properties of electrostatic aggregates so far investigated are incompatible with the presence of these materials on Mars.     

Unique Aeolian Bedforms of Mars: Transverse Aeolian Ridges

Transverse Aeolian Ridges (TARs) are among the unique aeolian bedforms of Mars, which witnessed a series of investigation for the last two decades thanks to the high-resolution remote sensing data. This paper summarized the understanding with respect to distribution, morphology, sedimentology, formation hypotheses and formation time of TARs. It is suggested that TARs are a kind of aeolian bedforms with meter-scale height and decameter-scale wavelength. TARs are primarily distributed in the equator and low-latitude regions, being rare in high and mid-latitude regions, and more popular in the south hemisphere than in the north hemisphere. Higher albedo and symmetric cross-sections are the most outstanding features of TARs, being analogous to the megaripples and reversing dunes on the Earth. The grain-size distribution of TARs’ sediments is generally bimodal, with granule cover and low thermal inertia. Three formation hypotheses were proposed for TARs: Megaripple hypothesis, reversing dune hypothesis and dust induration hypothesis, with more evidences supporting the megaripple hypothesis. Similar to dunes, TARs are geologically recent morphology on Mars, but generally predate dunes, formed in the last few million years so that most TARs are indurated or lithified and are immobile. However, contemporary mobileTARs are also developed in some regions. The unique features of TARs make them the mostenigmatic aeolian bedforms of Mars. It is proposed that high-resolution information on TARs sedimentology and integrated regional surveying should be listed in the priorities of future Mars exploration with respect to TARs study.     

火星资源赋存状况及其原位利用技术研究进展与展望

太空资源的勘探及利用是深空探测的重要目的之一。火星是人类最容易到达和资源利用最为迫切的行星,对火星资源进行勘查和原位利用是未来火星载人探测及基地建设需要解决的重要问题。本文对火星大气资源、水资源、土壤与岩石矿物资源、风能与太阳能资源等可利用资源的类型及赋存状况进行了分析,制作了火星资源的全球分布图,并从资源分布的角度提出了未来火星资源探测及火星基地建设的首选区域。同时,本文也总结了火星原位资源利用技术的研究进展及问题,认为未来需要从以下几个方面开展进一步研究：加强火星资源的针对性勘查与评估;开发新的资源利用模式与技术;建立资源利用成本的综合评估模型;完善资源开发与利用相关的法律法规。     

大浪滩盐湖蒸发盐嗜盐菌培养鉴定及其天体生物学意义

通过火星遥感及火星登陆测量都发现了火星上存在大量的含水硫酸盐,这些盐类的状态和演化也见证了近代火星表面环境条件的变化。大浪滩盐湖是柴达木盆地第二大盐湖,也是中国最为干旱的地区之一,而且大浪滩盐湖分布有与火星类似的硫酸盐盐类沉积。我们采集了蒸发盐表层盐壳,盐湖结晶盐以及剖面沉积盐类等样品,进行室内分离、培养及鉴定嗜盐菌研究。结果表明,大浪滩盐结晶及盐类沉积中分布有不同类型的嗜盐菌,主要类型为Virgibacillus,Oceanobacillus,Halobacillus,和Terribacillus等。大浪滩盐湖蒸发盐中内生嗜盐菌的分离鉴定,为探索火星高盐环境中生命存在的形式和机制提供一种类比模式。     

火星雅丹地貌研究进展

雅丹地貌是一种典型的风蚀地貌.多源遥感探测和就位探测均表明火星表面分布着大量的雅丹地貌,其形态特征和物质组成记录了火星气候环境变化的信息,是当前火星探测和研究的热点之一.本文对火星雅丹地貌的探测历史、分布、类型、几何特征、物质组成、年代学、发育过程及对古气候指示意义等方面的研究进展进行了总结,在此基础上,提出了当前火星雅丹地貌研究存在的主要问题,建议在未来研究中重点加强雅丹地貌定量化和比较行星学研究,并结合其物质组成、年代学等方面工作,探讨其发育过程与气候环境协同演化的机制,为深入认识火星雅丹地貌发育过程,了解火星古气候环境变化提供支持.     

地球同火星蒸发岩沉积的对比

迄今为止,人类已经通过火星轨道探测器、火星着陆器及火星漫游车在火星上发现了碳酸盐、硫酸盐及氯化物等一 系列的盐类矿物,尽管整体上火星盐类矿物组合与地球上基本一致,但在许多细节方面还是和地球上有所不同。文中首先 对于火星盐类认知的现状作了简要综述;基于地球火星蒸发盐沉积及成盐作用规律的对比,预测火星表面及次表面可能存 在着广泛分布的钾盐;此外,发现火星轨道伽玛光谱仪所获的火星表面 K 的分布与火星表面已探测到的氯化物的分布有比 较强的相关性,喻示火星表面氯化物沉积地区的卤水浓度已经接近或达到钾盐形成的条件,同时指出这些地区存在钾盐的 可能性很大。     

黄河中游岩土侵蚀问题及防治对策探讨

黄河中游出露地层岩性主要有古生界奥陶系碳酸盐岩、石炭系和二叠系碎屑岩;中生界三叠系砂泥岩、侏罗系砂泥岩和白垩系砂泥岩;新生界古近系砂泥岩、新近系(原为第三系)红土及第四系风积黄土和现代风积沙。第四系黄土厚度大,结构松散,遇水易解体,具湿陷性,是黄河中游粗泥砂的主要物源;第四系风积沙分布于黄河中游北部,亦是黄河中游粗泥砂的主要物源。岩土侵蚀类型有五:一是风力侵蚀—风沙侵蚀;二是降雨对谷坡面的面状冲刷—坡面侵蚀;三是地表径流对谷底的侧蚀—沟谷侵蚀;四是滑塌对谷坡坡体的破坏—重力侵蚀;五是潜蚀。并对不同侵蚀类型提出了不同的防治对策。     

Experimental study of radon production and transport in an analogue for the Martian regolith

The suggestion that radon could be used as a radioactive tracer of regolith-atmosphere exchanges and as a proxy for subsurface water on Mars, as well as its indirect detection in the Martian atmosphere by the rover Opportunity, have raised the need for a better characterization of its production process and transport efficiency in the Martian soil. More specifically, a proper estimation of radon exhalation rate on Mars requires its emanation factor and diffusion length to be determined. The dependence of the emanation factor as a function of pore water content (at 267 and 293 K) and the dependence of the adsorption coefficient on temperature, specific surface area and nature of the carrier gas (He, He + CO₂) have been measured on a Martian soil analogue (Hawaiian palagonitized volcanic ash, JSC Mars-1), whose radiometric analysis has been performed. An estimation of radon diffusion lengths on Mars is provided and is used to derive a global average emanation factor (2-6.5%) that accounts for the exhalation rate inferred from the ²¹⁰Po surface concentration detected on Martian dust and from the ²¹⁴Bi signal measured by the Mars Odyssey Gamma Ray Spectrometer. It is found to be much larger than emanation factors characterizing lunar samples, but lower than the emanation factor of the palagonite samples obtained under dry conditions. This result probably reflects different degrees of aqueous alteration and could indicate that the emanation factor is also affected by the current presence of pore water in the Martian soil. The rationale of the “radon method” as a technique to probe subsurface water on Mars, and its sensitivity to soil parameters are discussed. These experimental data are useful to perform more detailed studies of radon transport in the Martian atmosphere using Global Climate Models and to interpret neutron and gamma data from Mars Odyssey Gamma Ray Spectrometer.     

火星水成地貌研究进展

液态水在火星地表的塑造过程中起到了重要的作用,形成了峡谷网、外流河道、古湖泊以及三角洲和冲积扇等多种多样的水成地貌,它们一直是火星探测与研究的热点和焦点.本文对火星水成地貌的探测历史、地形地貌特征、时空分布等方面的研究进展进行总结,探讨水成地貌对火星气候演化及天体生物学研究的指示意义.在此基础上,提出当前火星水成地貌研究存在的问题,认为需要在火星水成地貌的水源类型、水成地貌所指示的火星水环境特征、亚马逊纪水成地貌的成因、火星水成地貌与我国柴达木盆地地貌的类比等方面开展进一步研究,为更深入的认识火星水成地貌,了解火星气候变化及宜居性提供支持.     

Kinetic model of olivine dissolution and extent of aqueous alteration on mars

If water was ever present on Mars, as suggested by geomorphological features, then much of the surface and subsurface may have experienced chemical weathering. Among those materials most readily altered is olivine, which has been identified on the Martian surface with IR spectroscopy and Mossbauer techniques and occurs in Martian meteorites. We use geochemical models of olivine dissolution kinetics to constrain the residence time of olivine on the surface of Mars in the presence of liquid water. From these models, we have calculated maximum dissolution rates and minimum residence times for olivine as a function of temperature, pH, Fe-composition, and particle size. In general, the most favorable conditions for olivine dissolution are fayalite-rich compositions, small particle sizes, high temperatures, and acidic solutions that are far from equilibrium. The least favorable conditions for olivine dissolution are forsterite-rich compositions, large particle sizes, ultra-low temperatures, and a neutral pH solution near equilibrium. By using kinetic models of olivine dissolution to bound dissolution rates and residence times, we can make inferences about the temporal extent of aqueous alteration on the surface of Mars. Under favorable conditions (pH 2, 5 °C, and far from equilibrium) a relatively large 0.1 cm (radius) particle of Fo₆₅ composition can completely dissolve in 370 years. Particles may last 10²–10⁴ times longer under less favorable conditions. However, residence times of a few million years or less are small compared to the age of most of the Martian surface. The survival of olivine on the surface of Mars, especially in older terrains, implies that contact with aqueous solutions has been limited and wet periods on Mars have been short-lived.     

Martian volcanism: Current state of knowledge and known unknowns

Much has been discovered about volcanism on Mars over the past fifty years of space exploration. Previous reviews of these discoveries have generally focused on the volcanic constructs (e.g., Olympus Mons and the other volcanoes within the Tharsis and Elysium regions), the analysis of individual lava flows, and how volcanic activity on Mars has evolved over time. Here we focus on attributes of volcanology that have received less attention and build upon characteristics of terrestrial volcanoes to pose new questions to guide future analyses of their Martian equivalents either with existing data sets or with new types of measurements that need to be made. The remarkable lack of exposed dikes at eroded ancient volcanoes attests to an internal structure that is different from terrestrial equivalents. Enigmatic aspects of the origin of the ridged plains (commonly accepted to be volcanic but with few identifiable flow fronts and only rare vents), the style(s) of volcanism during the earliest period of Martian history (the Noachian), and the possible mode(s) of formation of the Medusae Fossae Formation are considered here. Martian meteorites have been dated and are volcanic, but they cannot be correlated with specific geographic areas, or the chronology of Mars derived from the number of superimposed impact craters. Some of these questions about Martian volcanism can be addressed with existing instrumentation, but further progress will most likely rely on the acquisition of new data sets such as high-resolution gravity data, the return of samples from known localities, the flight of a synthetic aperture imaging radar, penetrators sent to the Medusae Fossae Formation, and detailed in situ field observations of selected volcanic sites.     

Image analysis algorithm for detection and measurement of Martian sand grains

Image analysis methods are commonly employed to determine the size and shape of particles. Although commercial and non-commercial tools enable detection and measurement of grains from images, they do not provide good results in the case of images acquired during extensive in situ Martian investigations. Within the confines of the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission and the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission thousands of images of sand grains were captured, and hitherto, they are the only source of ground-truth data on Martian sand particles. Therefore, a new approach is proposed to analyze such images. The semi-automatic algorithm allows fast detection and measurement of the size and shape of Martian grains from images obtained by the Microscopic Imager (MI) and the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI). The method was evaluated on 76 images of terrestrial and Martian deposits. The results for the terrestrial samples were compared to those from sieve analysis, as well as with ImageJ and Malvern Morphologi G3 systems. The method provides similar results to those from the other methods. It does not have any limitation on the size of grains, and permits separation of touching particles.     

Effect of source width and tidal elevation changes on aeolian transport on an estuarine beach

Data from a moderate energy, meso-tidal beach on the east side of Delaware Bay, New Jersey, USA, revealed the significance of both beach width as a source for aeolian transport and the effect of tidal rise on source width. Wind speeds averaged over 17·1 min, recorded 6 m above the crest of a 0·5 m high dune, ranged from 11·6 to 12·7 m s^?1 during the experiment. The highest observed rate of transport on the beach was 0·0085 kg m^?1 s^?1, monitored at rising low tide when the average wind speed was 11·6 m s^?1 across 0·35 mm diameter surface sediments. The wind direction was oblique to the shoreline, creating a source width of 34 m. The reduction in the width of the beach as a source for aeolian transport during rising tide was approximately arithmetic, whereas the reduction in volume of sediment trapped was exponential. Aeolian transport effectively ceased when source width was less than 8 m. Wind conditions, moisture content of the surface sediments and presence of binding salts did not appear to vary dramatically, and no coarse grained lag deposit formed on the surface of the beach. The decrease in rate of sediment trapped through time in the tidal cycle is attributed to differences in source width. Sediment deposited in the litter behind the active beach by strong winds during the rising tide was eroded during the high water period by the high waves and storm surge generated by these winds, and net losses of sediment were observed despite initial aeolian accretion.     

藏北高原多年冻土区地表反照率时空变化特征

利用自动气象站数据和MODIS（MOD02）数据,对位于藏北高原多年冻土区的阿雅克气象站、卓乃湖气象站、唐古拉气象站和西大滩气象站四个观测站点的单点地表反照率的季节变化、日变化和站点所属区域（88°~95°E,32°~38°N）的区域地表反照率夏、冬季节的空间分布进行了分析研究,得出：2013年,四个研究站点地表反照率均是夏季最小,冬季最大,春季大于秋季,其他季节较夏季地表反照率峰值较多;当太阳高度角大于40°时各站点地表反照率日变化基本不变,地表冻融过程中地表反照率完全冻结阶段 ＞ 日冻融循环阶段 ＞ 完全融化阶段,且地表日冻融循环阶段地表反照率日变化的中间时刻有明显下降。研究区域夏、冬季地表反照率大部分在0.1~0.3范围内;冬季地表反照率大于0.3的区域明显多于夏季,夏季区域地表反照率自阿雅克到唐古拉呈带状递减。     

Wind tunnel experiments on vertical distribution of wind-blown sand flux and change of the quantity of sand erosion and deposition above gravel beds under different sand supplies

Wind tunnel experiments were carried out with respect to the vertical distributions of wind-blown sand flux and the processes of aeolian erosion and deposition under different wind velocities and sand supplies above beds with different gravel coverage. Preliminary results revealed that the vertical distribution of wind-blown sand flux was a way to determine whether the gobi sand stream was the saturated one or not. It had different significances to indicate characteristics of transport and deposition above gobi beds. Whether bed processes are of aeolian erosion or deposition was determined by the sand stream near the surface, especially within 0–6 cm height, while the sand transport was mainly influenced by the sand stream in the saltating layer above the height of 6 cm. The degree of the abundance of sand supply was one of the important factors to determine the saturation level of sand stream, which influenced the characteristic of aeolian erosion and deposition on gravel beds. Given the similar wind condition, the sand transport rates controlled by the saturated flow were between 2 and 8 times of the unsaturated one. Those bed processes controlled by the saturated flow were mainly of deposition, and the amount of sand accumulation increased largely as the wind speed increased. In contrast, the bed processes controlled by the unsaturated flow were mainly of aeolian erosion. Meanwhile, there was an obvious blocking sand ability within the height of 0–2 cm, and the maximal value of sand transport occurred within the surface of 2–5 cm height.