Falling Material Kicks Up a Cloud of Dust on Dunes

Falling Material Kicks Up a Cloud of Dust on Dunes, a photo by Lunar and Planetary Institute on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
There is a vast region of sand dunes at high northern latitudes on Mars. In the winter, a layer of carbon dioxide ice covers the dunes, and in the spring as the sun warms the ice it evaporates. This is a very active process, which causes sand to dislodge from the crests of the dunes and cascade down, forming dark streaks. In this image, falling material has kicked up a small cloud of dust. The color of the ice surrounding adjacent streaks of material suggests that dust has settled on the ice at the bottom after similar events. ASU-IPF-3057