Mars global digital dune database (MGD3)—Composition, stability, and thermal inertia

The Mars Global Digital Dune Database (MGD³) is an online repository that has catalogued dune fields larger than 1 km² located between latitudes 90° N. and 90° S. The work presented here expands upon previous MGD3 open-file reports, with a new emphasis upon characterizing dune fields through composition, stability, and thermal inertia. Included in this latest addition is a detailed compositional analysis and the associated observational data from Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) for dune fields 300 km² or larger; a near-global dune stability assessment; Mars Odyssey (MO1) Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) apparent thermal inertia values; and vertical near-surface thermophysical heterogeneities determined by fitting a two-layer thermal model to observed temperatures. These additional datasets are divided into two workbooks: equatorial and south polar regions. A detailed description for the layout of these workbooks can be found in the corresponding metadata document. The continuing goal of the MGD³ is to provide a reliable and multifaceted repository of data for Mars’ dunes, with the intention that such data be easily accessible and useful to future research.