Characteristics and Formation Mechanism of Wind Streaks on Mars

Wind streaks with two-dimensional plane shapes are a collective term for a variety of aeolian features that display distinctive albedo surface patterns and they do not have three-dimensional shape. Wind streaks are widely distributed on Mars， and are good proxy indicators of the surface wind regime， and even of global circulation patterns on Mars. However， the study on wind streaks has been largely ignored for a long time. Based on published studies， this paper summarized the types， morphology and formation mechanism of wind streaks. According to the relationship between albedo and obstacles， wind streaks can be divided into six basic types： bright wind streaks， dark wind streaks， mixed-tone wind streaks， splotches and related wind streaks， dune shadow wind streaks and frost wind streaks， of which the bright and dark streaks are the most common and representative， for they are the most abundant types of variable features on Mars. Wind streaks are primarily distributed in the latitudinal zone between 60°S and 60°N with little difference among different types， and they have many shapes such as tapered， fan， oval and parallel shapes due to the diverse obstacles. Considering the relationship between sediment characteristics and aeolian erosion and deposition， bright wind streaks are generally depositional with a consensus and dark streaks are erosional with a controversy. In the absence of Martian meteorological observation data， the retrieval of surface wind regime based on the orientation of wind streaks has good reliability， which helps to understand the modifications of Martian surfaces by wind in the geological context.