The Fifth International Planetary Dunes Workshop: From the Bottom of the Oceans to the Outer Limits of the Solar System; St. George, Utah, 16–19 May 2017
Remote sensing
Curiosity Spies Shifting Sands on Mars
Images from the rover’s pioneering encounter with sand dunes on Mars constrain wind speeds required to move sand in the thin Martian atmosphere.
Gulf Stream Destabilization Point Is on the Move
Westward migration of the wavelike Gulf Stream pattern could have big effects on ocean mixing and heat transport off the U.S. East Coast.
Mars’s Climate May Have Been Wet Much Later Than Thought
Water-carved valleys may be relatively young, challenging assumptions about the history of the Red Planet's climate.
How Do Gullies Form on Mars?
New orbiter data support an important role for seasonal frost—not liquid water—in the formation of Martian gullies.
A Cluster of Water Seeps on Mars?
The discovery of dense concentrations of recurring flowlike features in two Valles Marineris chasms could aid in the search for life and influence future exploration of the Red Planet.
Curiosity Sends Curious Water Data from Mars
The rover's neutron spectroscopy instrument hints at an unexpected trend: The upper soil levels in the layers of Gale Crater's Kimberley formation seem to hold more water-associated hydrogen.
Martian Carbonates Spotted by the Orbiter
The minerals identified by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter provide more evidence that the planet may have once been habitable.
Demystifying Mercury "Hollows"
Spectral data from NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft indicate that the properties of the depressions on Mercury's surface can vary within a single crater and that these differences may correlate to age.
Radar Study Examines Pulsing Tropical Climate
In the Madden-Julian Oscillation, shear forces caused by air layers slipping and sliding near the equator play a critical role in forming enormous thunderstorms and monsoons.
