Dust Production by Abrasion of Eolian Basalt Sands: Analogue for Martian Dust

Abstract

Dust is nearly ubiquitous on Mars, covering much of the planet's surface, having been redistributed by dust storms. Analysis of dust via landed instrumentation indicates a basaltic composition for its protolith; the same is interpreted for the dark dune sands encountered at rover field sites. In this paper, we used samples of eolian sands derived from basaltic volcanoes in an experiment to simulate dust production from basalt dune sands within an abrasion chamber. In addition, we used samples from gypsum dunes because gypsum is found within dune fields on the northern plains of Mars. The results, expressed as weight percent of sample reduced to dust, show a remarkably broad range over 4 orders of magnitude. Eolian abrasion of basalt sands can produce similar amounts of dust, as is the case for some desert sands on Earth. Some plausible Mars analogue materials can produce large amounts of dust, suggesting that eolian movement of basaltic sand and volcanic sediments on the surface of Mars is a potential source of fine-grained sediment or dust.