The sand waves are fascinating. They are symmetrical, but the wind that causes them is not symmetrical at all. They can also be found on Mars and Earth. It would be even more fascinating if the same effect found on Mars could be found here on Earth. What if a single theory could explain their formation on two different planets in our solar system?

This is according to a paper published in the journal by physicists Professor Hezi Yizhak and Professor Yitzhak Katra of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and colleagues from Denmark, Germany, Italy, China and the United States. Natural Geology.

Sand ripples photographed on Mars by NASA’s Curiosity rover in 2015 showed two distinct patterns: a large ripple (on the meter scale) and a shorter “shock” ripple (on the decimeter scale). The prevailing theory put forward since then is that smaller-scale ripples are formed by the impact mechanism of wind-borne particles, like normal ripples on Earth, while larger ripples are formed due to hydrodynamic instability, like underwater ripples. Moreover, it was believed that the physical conditions that produced them on Mars could not produce them on Earth.

Experimental evidence

But Professor Yizhak and Professor Katra have experimentally proven with the help of the wind tunnel of Ben-Gurion University and the Mars tunnel of Aarhus University that such a phenomenon can exist on Earth – we have not noticed it yet because we have not noticed it yet. know how to look for it.

Professor Yizhak explains that it is not easy to imitate Martian sand because Martian sand is finer than sand on Earth, but the progress came when they decided to try small glass balls to represent fine grains of sand.

Additionally, an international research team has proposed a unified theoretical framework to explain sand ripples on Mars and Earth. At the most basic level, wind-driven sand waves on Mars are similar to water-driven sand waves on Earth.

“Much more research, both field and experimental, is needed to confirm our theory, but it is surprising to propose something so radically new in a field I have studied for over 20 years. It’s exciting to go out and try to find something on Earth that you can clearly see on Mars,” says Professor Yizhak.