SPS Seminar - Decoding the Aeolian Signal at Oxia Planum (and why that’s important)

When:  Thursday 27^th May at 14.00

Where:  Microsoft Teams - Online

Speaker:  Elena Favaro (The OU)

Hosted by: Alexander Barrett

Abstract:

The history of Oxia Planum, and of Mars more generally, is encoded in the myriad of aeolian (wind-blown) features we see on the surface. Winds have had more than 4 billion years to shape the surface, and we’ve only just begun to decode those signals. The European Space Agency’s ExoMars Rosalind Franklin Rover (ERFR) is due to land at Oxia Planum in 2023. Prior to arrival of the rover, a comprehensive characterization of the aeolian landscape at the landing site is critical to the main science mission of the rover: search for and identify target rocks with the highest biomarker preservation potential.

In this seminar, I’ll take you through the work we’ve done to characterize the aeolian environment of Oxia Planum, how we use our understanding of similar terrestrial bedforms, landforms, and processes to begin to untangle the complex history of this region, and why understanding how the wind has influenced the Martian surface is important. 

Bio:

Elena Favaro is a PDRA with the Planetary Environments Group in SPS. She received her PhD at the University of Calgary where she investigated bedrock abrasion and bedform evolution on Earth and Mars. She undertook field work in the high-altitude deserts of Northwestern Argentina, where the landscape is dominated by enigmatic landforms and bedforms common to Mars, like yardangs, aeolian rat tails, periodic bedrock ridges, and megaripples. Elena’s current work focuses on using the aeolian landforms and bedforms in Oxia Planum to characterize the wind regime before ESA's Rosaland Franklin rover touches down in 2023.