Slope Streaks in the Olympus Mons Aureole
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Slope Streaks in the Olympus Mons Aureole
PSP_008144_2055  Science Theme: Mass Wasting Processes
Slope streaks are features commonly found throughout the equatorial regions of Mars, particularly in areas where there is a great amount of dust accumulation. One such place is the Olympus Mons Aureole deposits that cover the ground beyond the northern flanks of the volcano.

This image shows many dark streaks that have formed along the slopes of the aureole deposits. Slope streaks appear dark after their formation and gradually fade over time. The fading is thought to occur by mantling of bright dust on their surfaces.

In this image, many streaks that are no longer dark appear to have topographic relief. You can often find them along slopes that are partially or fully shadowed, or those that are facing away from the sun. Although the processes involved in slope streak formation are still being debated in the scientific community, the topographic relief indicates that material must have been moved, or removed, when the streak formed. One such way for this to happen is dry avalanching of dusty and/or sandy materials.



Written by: Frank Chuang  (14 May 2008)
 
Acquisition date
22 April 2008

Local Mars time
15:04

Latitude (centered)
25.339°

Longitude (East)
216.302°

Spacecraft altitude
284.8 km (177.0 miles)

Original image scale range
57.0 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects ~171 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
50 cm/pixel and North is up

Map projection
Equirectangular

Emission angle
2.8°

Phase angle
39.3°

Solar incidence angle
42°, with the Sun about 48° above the horizon

Solar longitude
61.9°, Northern Spring

For non-map projected images
North azimuth:  97°
Sub-solar azimuth:  11.5°
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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.