Planetary Dunes Workshop, a record of climate change : April 29-May 2, 2008, Alamogordo, New Mexico

Abstract

Sand dunes and other aeolian bedforms are a prominent part of landscapes shaped by wind action on several bodies in our solar system. Despite the three decades of study of these features, many questions regarding their composition and sediment sources, morphology, age, origins, and dynamics under present and past climatic conditions remain unanswered. Recently acquired data from orbiters and rovers together with innovative approaches using terrestrial analogs and numerical models are beginning to provide new insights into martian sand dunes, as well as aeolian bedforms on other terrestrial planetary bodies such as Titan.