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wolf · 02-12-2003, 06:52 PM

I've been spending a lot of time looking at the gullies image, including the larger resolution version available on the originating website.

The "gullies" are certainly suggestive of a formation type known to be caused by water erosion on Earth. There, however, is the operative statement. On Earth. I don't know that we have enough information regarding the composition of Martian soils to accurately predict the behavior under the particular conditions of temperature, wind, and gravity.

We need more information about the wind speed characteristics, the composition and hardness of the underlying rock, and the hardness of the soil particles that would be scouring that surface under a high wind ... which is another thing. I don't see anything that really stands out as wind erosion. Those features may not have changed over centuries or longer.

There are a couple spots near the bottom center of the picture that do look like the coronas that form from a meteor strike. Those are not disturbed much, so I'm guessing that it's not a windy area.

There ARE features which appear to be slips or subseidance of some kind ... particularly at the bottom of that big "hill" to the middle right.

02-12-2003, 06:52 PM	#13
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	The Serious Reply I've been spending a lot of time looking at the gullies image, including the larger resolution version available on the originating website. The "gullies" are certainly suggestive of a formation type known to be caused by water erosion on Earth. There, however, is the operative statement. On Earth. I don't know that we have enough information regarding the composition of Martian soils to accurately predict the behavior under the particular conditions of temperature, wind, and gravity. We need more information about the wind speed characteristics, the composition and hardness of the underlying rock, and the hardness of the soil particles that would be scouring that surface under a high wind ... which is another thing. I don't see anything that really stands out as wind erosion. Those features may not have changed over centuries or longer. There are a couple spots near the bottom center of the picture that do look like the coronas that form from a meteor strike. Those are not disturbed much, so I'm guessing that it's not a windy area. There ARE features which appear to be slips or subseidance of some kind ... particularly at the bottom of that big "hill" to the middle right. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis