While many, if not most, of the Dust storms on Mars can be shown to be due to strong winds blowing dust up from flat plains, it is possible that some have other origins.

Given the low cohesivity of the Martian Regolith, if any avalanches occur, say on the flanks of the Canyon Systems, then the debris will produce large amounts of dust which will be turbulently mixed into the local atmosphere during the avalanche, especially if any co2-bearing ices are involved to help inflate the dust cloud.

Many avalanche-prone sections of the major canyons have young surface exposure ages (very few impact craters) suggesting that cliff collapse is continuing to the present day. If seismic stations are established on Mars for an extended period, they may be able to detect rock-fall signatures associated with the initiation of some dust storms.
 

      Created: May 2002
      Last modified: May 2002
      Authorised by:  Head, Earth Sciences

      Maintained by: Nick Hoffman