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Planetary geologic mapping protocol—2022

The Planetary Geologic Mapping Protocol covers the idealized process of compiling a NASA-funded map product of a non-terrestrial solid surface planetary body for U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) publication and summarizes technical specifications of the Mapping Process for authors and reviewers. Directed by community and programmatic recommendations, the USGS Planetary Geologic Map Coordination Group
Authors
James A. Skinner, Alexandra E. Huff, Sarah R. Black, Holly C. Buban, Corey M. Fortezzo, Tenielle A. Gaither, Trent M. Hare, Marc A. Hunter

Morphology and paleohydrology of intracrater alluvial fans north of Hellas Basin, Mars

Alluvial fans and sinuous ridges are both important records of the history of fluvial activity on Mars, and they often occur together. We present observations of alluvial fans, many of which exhibit inverted relief, in five craters in the region north of Hellas basin. The observed fans ranged in size from ~10 to 820 km2. We identified three primary fan surface morphology classes (chute, degraded,
Authors
Ryan Anderson, Rebecca Williams, Amber Gullikson, William Nelson

Fundamental science and engineering questions in planetary cave exploration

Nearly half a century ago, two papers postulated the likelihood of lunar lava tube caves using mathematical models. Today, armed with an array of orbiting and fly-by satellites and survey instrumentation, we have now acquired cave data across our solar system—including the identification of potential cave entrances on the Moon, Mars, and at least six other planetary bodies. These discoveries gave
Authors
J. Judson Wynne, Timothy N. Titus, Ali-akbar Agha-Mohammadi, Armando Azua-Bustos, Penelope J. Boston, Pablo de León, Cansu Demirel-Floyd, Jo de Waele, Heather Jones, Michael J. Malaska, Ana Z. Miller, Haley M. Sapers, Francesco Sauro, Derek L. Sonderegger, Kyle Uckert, Uland Y. Wong, E. Calvin Alexander, Leroy Chiao, Glen E. Cushing, John DeDecker, Alberto G. Fairén, Amos Frumkin, Gary L. Harris, Michelle L. Kearney, Laura A. Kerber, Richard J. Léveillé, Kavya Manyapu, Matteo Massironi, John E. Mylroie, Bogdan P. Onac, Scott E. Parazynski, Charity M. Phillips-Lander, T. H. Prettyman, Dirk Schulze-Makuch, Robert V. Wagner, William L. Whittaker, Kaj E. Williams

Orbital and in-situ investigation of periodic bedrock ridges in Glen Torridon, Gale Crater, Mars

Wind has been the dominant agent of landscape modification on Mars for the past ~3 billion years. Among the diversity of features formed by aeolian abrasion on the surface of Mars are periodic bedrock ridges (PBRs), a relatively recently recognized class of erosional bedforms on Mars for which Earth analogues are rare. Gale crater, the field site for NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover
Authors
K. M. Stack, W. E. Dietrich, M. P. Lamb, Robert Sullivan, John R. Christian, Claire E Newman, Catherine O'Connell-Cooper, Jonathan W Sneed, Mackenzie D. Day, Mariah Baker, R. A. Arvidson, Christopher M. Fedo, Sabrina Khan, Rebecca Williams, Kristen A. Bennett, A. B. Bryk, Shannon Cofield, Lauren A. Edgar, V. F. Fox, Abigail A. Fraeman, Christopher H House, D. M. Rubin, Vivian Z. Sun, Jason K. Van Beek

Revealing active Mars with HiRISE digital terrain models

Many discoveries of active surface processes on Mars have been made due to the availability of repeat high-resolution images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. HiRISE stereo images are used to make digital terrain models (DTMs) and orthorectified images (orthoimages). HiRISE DTMs and orthoimage time series have been crucial for adv
Authors
Sarah S. Sutton, Matthew Chojnacki, Alfred S. McEwen, Randolph L. Kirk, Colin M. Dundas, Ethan I Schaefer, Susan J. Conway, Serina Diniega, Ganna Portyankina, Margaret E. Landis, Nicole F Baugh, Rodney Heyd, Shane Byrne, Livio L. Tornabene, Lujendra Ojha, Christopher W. Hamilton

Overview of the morphology and chemistry of diagenetic features in the clay-rich Glen Torridon Unit of Gale Crater, Mars

The clay-rich Glen Torridon region of Gale crater, Mars, was explored between sols 2300 and 3007. Here, we analyzed the diagenetic features observed by Curiosity, including veins, cements, nodules, and nodular bedrock, using the ChemCam, Mastcam, and Mars Hand Lens Imager instruments. We discovered many diagenetic features in Glen Torridon, including dark-toned iron- and manganese-rich veins, magn
Authors
Patrick J. Gasda, Jade Comellas, A Essunfeld, D. Das, Alex B Bryk, Erwin Dehouck, Susanne P. Schwenzer, Laura Crossey, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, Jeffrey B. Johnson, Horton E. Newsom, Nina L. Lanza, William Rapin, Walter Goetz, Pierre-Yves Meslin, John C. Bridges, Ryan Anderson, Gaël David, S M R Turner, M T Thorpe, Linda C. Kah, Jens Frydenvang, Rachel Kronyak, G. Caravaca, Ann M. Ollila, Stephane Le Mouelic, M Nellessen, Megan Hoffman, Deirdra M. Fey, Agnes Cousin, Roger C. Wiens, Sam M. Clegg, Sylvestre Maurice, Olivier Gasnault, Dorothy Delapp, A. Reyes-Newell

Planetary Aeolian landforms: An introduction to the Fifth Planetary Dunes Workshop Special Issue

Aeolian landforms are widespread in our solar system. Understanding the exact nature and processes of formation of these features are challenging tasks necessitating a strong collaboration between scientists with different skills and scientific backgrounds. This paper describes the special issue for the 5th International Planetary Dunes Workshop, which includes 15 research papers and three comment
Authors
Simone Silvestro, Timothy N. Titus

Ancient winds, waves, and atmosphere in Gale Crater, Mars, inferred from sedimentary structures and wave modeling

Wave modeling and analysis of sedimentary structures were used to evaluate whether four examples of symmetrical, reversing, or straight-crested bedforms in Gale crater sandstones are preserved wave ripples; deposition by waves would demonstrate that the lake was not covered by ice at that time. Wave modeling indicates that regardless of atmospheric density, winds that exceeded the threshold of aeo
Authors
DM Rubin, MAG Lapotre, Andrew W. Stevens, MP Lamb, CM Fedo, JP Grotzinger, S. Gupta, KM Stack, AR Vasavada, SG Banham, AB Bryk, G. Caravaca, JP Christian, Lauren A. Edgar, M. C. Malin

Using near–surface temperature data to vicariously calibrate high-resolution thermal infrared imagery and estimate physical surface properties

Thermal response of the surface to solar insolation is a function of the topography and the thermal physical characteristics of the landscape, which include bulk density, heat capacity, thermal conductivity and surface albedo and emissivity. Thermal imaging is routinely used to constrain thermal physical properties by characterizing or modeling changes in the diurnal temperature profiles. Images n
Authors
Timothy N. Titus, J. Judson Wynne, M.D. Jhabvala, N. A. Cabrol

In situ recording of Mars soundscape

Prior to the Perseverance rover landing, the acoustic environment of Mars was unknown. Models predicted that: (i) atmospheric turbulence changes at centimeter scales or smaller at the point where molecular viscosity converts kinetic energy into heat1, (ii) the speed of sound varies at the surface with frequency2,3, and (iii) high frequency waves are strongly attenuated with distance in CO22–4. How
Authors
Sylvestre Maurice, Baptiste Chide, Naomi Murdoch, Ralph D. Lorenz, David Mimoun, Roger C. Wiens, Alexander E. Stott, X. Jacob, T. Bertrand, F. Montmessin, Nina L. Lanza, C. Alvarez-Llamas, S. M. Angel, M. Aung, J. Balaram, O. Beyssac, A. Cousin, G. Delory, O. Forni, T. Fouchet, O. Gasnault, H. Grip, M. Hecht, J. Hoffman, J. Laserna, J. Lasue, J. N. Maki, J. McClean, P. -Y. Meslin, S. Le Mouélic, A. Munguira, C. E. Newman, J. A. Rodríguez Manfredi, J. Moros, A. Ollila, P. Pilleri, S. E. Schröder, M. de la Torre Juárez, T. Tzanetos, K. Stack, K. Farley, K. H. Williford, T. Acosta-Maeda, Ryan Anderson, D.M. Applin, G. Arana, M. Bassas-Portus, R. Beal, P. S. A. Beck, K. Benzerara, S. Bernard, P. Bernardi, T. Bosak, B. Bousquet, A. Brown, A. Cadu, P. Caïs, K. Castro, E. Clavé, S. M. Clegg, E. Cloutis, S. Connell, A. Debus, E. Dehouck, D. Delapp, C. Donny, A. Dorresoundiram, G. Dromart, B. Dubois, C. Fabre, A. Fau, W. F. Fischer, R. Francis, J. Frydenvang, Travis S. J. Gabriel, E. Gibbons, I. Gontijo, J. R. Johnson, H. Kalucha, E. Kelly, E. Knutsen, G. Lacombe, C. Legett, R. Leveille, E. Lewin, G. Lopez-Reyes, E. Lorigny, J. M. Madariaga, M. B. Madsen, S. Madsen, L. Mandon, N. Mangold, M. Mann, J.-A. Manrique, J. Martinez-Frias, L. E. Mayhew, F. Meunier, T. McConnochie, S. M. McLennan, G. Montagnac, V. Mousset, T. Aliste Nelson, R. T. Newell, Y. Parot, C. Pilorget, P. Pinet, G. Pont, C. Quantin-Nataf, B. Quertier, W. Rapin, A. Reyes-Newell, S. Robinson, L. Rochas, C. Royer, F. Rull, V. Sautter, S. Sharma, V. Shridar, A. Sournac, M. Toplis, I. Torre-Fdez, N. Turenne, A. Udry, M. Veneranda, D. Venhaus, D. Vogt, P. Willis

Introduction to the Python Hyperspectral Analysis Tool (PyHAT)

Spectroscopic data are rich in information and are commonly used in planetary research. Many mission teams, research labs, and individual research scientists derive thematic products from multi- and hyperspectral data sets and apply spectroscopic analysis techniques to derive new understanding. The PyHAT is a powerful and versatile, free, and open-source Python library designed to support explorat
Authors
Jason Laura, Lisa R. Gaddis, Ryan Anderson, Itiya Aneece

Mass balance of two perennial snowfields: Niwot Ridge, Colorado and the Ulaan Taiga, Mongolia.

Perennial snowfields are generally receding worldwide, though the precise mechanisms causing recessions are not always well understood. Here we apply a numerical snowpack model to identify the leading factors controlling the mass balance of two perennial snowfields that have significant human interest: Arapaho glacier, located at Niwot Ridge in the Colorado Rocky Mountains (United States), and a s
Authors
Kaj E. Williams, Christopher P. McKay, Owen B. Toon, Keith S. Jennings