Activity in Martian Gullies
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Activity in Martian Gullies
ESP_032078_1420  Science Theme: Mass Wasting Processes
This image covers a location that has been imaged several times to look for changes in gullies. The cutout shows a comparison between the first HiRISE image of the location and one of the more recent views.

A lobate, rubbly flow (noted by the arrows) has been deposited near the mouth of the channel between the time of the two images. Further up the slope, the channel system has been modified by both erosion and deposition. Other images can pin down the timing of this flow more precisely, but it is easier to see the changes between these two because the lighting is similar.

Changes have now been seen in many gullies on Mars, and show that these landforms are evolving rapidly. The timing of the changes is often in winter or early spring, suggesting that they are caused by the carbon dioxide frost that forms in and around most gullies every year.

Each of the cutouts is 150 meters (164 yards) wide, and only shows the bottom of the gully channel. Try looking at the whole gully in both images using HiView—how far up can you find changes?

Written by: Colin Dundas  (10 July 2014)
 
Acquisition date
31 May 2013

Local Mars time
14:14

Latitude (centered)
-37.672°

Longitude (East)
192.937°

Spacecraft altitude
253.0 km (157.2 miles)

Original image scale range
25.6 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~77 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
25 cm/pixel and North is up

Map projection
Equirectangular

Emission angle
8.8°

Phase angle
46.0°

Solar incidence angle
39°, with the Sun about 51° above the horizon

Solar longitude
327.6°, Northern Winter

For non-map projected images
North azimuth:  96°
Sub-solar azimuth:  35.9°
JPEG
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Merged IRB
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JP2 EXTRAS
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map-projected  (199MB)
non-map           (263MB)

IRB color
map projected  (67MB)
non-map           (245MB)

Merged IRB
map projected  (102MB)

Merged RGB
map-projected  (104MB)

RGB color
non map           (238MB)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
B&W label
Color label
Merged IRB label
Merged RGB label
EDR products
HiView

NB
IRB: infrared-red-blue
RGB: red-green-blue
About color products (PDF)

Black & white is 5 km across; enhanced color about 1 km
For scale, use JPEG/JP2 black & white map-projected images

USAGE POLICY
All of the images produced by HiRISE and accessible on this site are within the public domain: there are no restrictions on their usage by anyone in the public, including news or science organizations. We do ask for a credit line where possible:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

POSTSCRIPT
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.