Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-1-1978
Abstract
Mariner 9 and Viking 1 and 2 obtained phatographs of nunerous windblown features on Mars. For example, dark- and light-colored streaks and sand dunes were photographed from martian orbit. Also, the Viking landers photographed sand drifts and sand shadows in the lec f blocks strewn on the martian surface. Many of these features are analogous to those photographed in southwestern Egypt by the Landsat spacecraft and by the Apollo-Soyuz astronauts. In the Owcinat Mountain region, linear sheets of windblown sand are similar to the light-colored streaks on Mars. The distribution and orphology of these sheets are affected by local topography. The sand sheets in this area bypass mountain rings as the light-colored streaks do circular craters or Mars. In the Oweinat region, dark-colored zones are present in the lee of mountain rings. These sand-free zones resemble some dark-colored streaks in the lee of craters on Mars, Additionally, in the nearby Gilf Kebir plateau, erosional patterns are correlated with similar patterns on Mars. Landsat and Apollo-Soyuz Photographs provide details of cliff retreat and headward erosion of tributaries. Because of climatic and geomorphic similarities between this area and the deserts of Mars, the correlations shed light on the wind transport of eroded materials in both cases.
Recommended Citation
El-Baz, Farouk, "Analogs of Martian Eolian features in southwestern Egypt" (1978). Farouk El-Baz Library. 59.
https://buescholar.bue.edu.eg/farouk_el-baz_library/59