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Image
Courtesy of NASA/JPL/Malin Space Systems (CTX) & NASA/JPL/University of Arizona (HiRISE)
Caption
An SwRI-led study identifies plumes of airborne dust emanating from sources inside gullies at Mars’ Russell crater megadune in the Martian spring. The plume phenomena support the hypothesis that CO2 ice blocks dislodged by venting CO2 gas actively slide downslope in the spring, redistributing dust. Airborne plumes were observed in HiRISE and CTX optical imagery acquired by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2007, 2012 and 2016