Martian dunes indicative of wind regime shift in line with end of ice age

Jianjun Liu, Xiaoguang Qin, Xin Ren, Xu Wang, Yong Sun, Xingguo Zeng, Haibin Wu, Zhaopeng Chen, Wangli Chen, Yuan Chen, Cheng Wang, Zezhou Sun, Rongqiao Zhang, Ziyuan Ouyang, Zhengtang Guo (), James W. Head () and Chunlai Li ()
Additional contact information
Jianjun Liu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xiaoguang Qin: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xin Ren: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xu Wang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yong Sun: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xingguo Zeng: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Haibin Wu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zhaopeng Chen: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Wangli Chen: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yuan Chen: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Cheng Wang: Beijing Aerospace Control Center
Zezhou Sun: Beijing Institute of Spacecraft System Engineering
Rongqiao Zhang: Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center
Ziyuan Ouyang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zhengtang Guo: Chinese Academy of Sciences
James W. Head: Brown University
Chunlai Li: Chinese Academy of Sciences

Nature, 2023, vol. 620, issue 7973, 303-309

Abstract: Abstract Orbital observations suggest that Mars underwent a recent ‘ice age’ (roughly 0.4–2.1 million years ago), during which a latitude-dependent ice-dust mantle (LDM)1,2 was emplaced. A subsequent decrease in obliquity amplitude resulted in the emergence of an ‘interglacial period’1,3 during which the lowermost latitude LDM ice4–6 was etched and removed, returning it to the polar cap. These observations are consistent with polar cap stratigraphy1,7, but lower- to mid-latitude in situ surface observations in support of a glacial–interglacial transition that can be reconciled with mesoscale and global atmospheric circulation models8 is lacking. Here we present a suite of measurements obtained by the Zhurong rover during its traverse across the southern LDM region in Utopia Planitia, Mars. We find evidence for a stratigraphic sequence involving initial barchan dune formation, indicative of north-easterly winds, cementation of dune sediments, followed by their erosion by north-westerly winds, eroding the barchan dunes and producing distinctive longitudinal dunes, with the transition in wind regime consistent with the end of the ice age. The results are compatible with the Martian polar stratigraphic record and will help improve our understanding of the ancient climate history of Mars9.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06206-1

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