defrosted dunes tagged posts

In Mars’ northern hemisphere, springtime has arrived, and observations from the HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Experiment) onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has captured partially defrosted dunes on the western slope of dunes inside Kaiser Crater.

In the winter, the dark sand dunes are covered in a blanket of white seasonal ice, which you can see in the image below. But this image actually shows the beginning of Martian springtime, where the sunny side of the dunes had just begun to thaw. The lead image shows even further thawing, with the darker dunes showing through.

“Bright patches of frost (white in enhanced color) are clearly visible and are made up of water and carbon dioxide ices,” w...