Wind-Blown Features of Scandia Cavi On Mars

This HiRISE image shows modified barchan dunes with shapes that resemble “raptor claws.” The unusual shape of these dunes suggests a limited supply of windblown sand.

Winds likely blew from the northeast resulting in elongate dunes with an asymmetric downwind point. The transverse crests of the smaller ripples/mega-ripple bed-forms surrounding the dune, echo the dominant downwind direction towards the southwest.

This locality is in the northern lowlands directly east of Dokka Crater in Scandia Cavi.

ID: ESP_017426_2570
date: 15 April 2010
altitude: 317 km