This book describes how sand dunes work, why they are the way they are in different settings, and how they are being studied. It compares and contrasts the characteristics and formation of sand dunes on Earth, Mars and Titan.

Compares and contrasts for the first time the characteristics and formation of sand dunes on Earth, Mars and Titan Imparts fundamental knowledge about how dunes form Updates the literature on geomorphology and planetary science Provides a comprehensive overview of all aspects of dune studies on planetary bodies Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Autorentext

Dr Ralph Lorenz trained as an engineer (B.Eng. Aerospace Systems Engineering, Southampton 1990) and worked for a year for the European Space Agency ESA on the design of the Huygens probe and its instruments. He then spent three years obtaining a PhD at the University of Kent at Canterbury building part of the Surface Science Package which measured Titan's surface properties in January 2005. In 1994 he moved to the University of Arizona for postdoctoral research, where his interests have included Titan, Mars, climate, nonequilibrium thermodynamics and instrumentation. He continues these researches as a member of the Senior Professional Staff at the Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University, where he moved in August 2006. Relevant to the present book, he has published several papers on dust devils, surface modification processes, and Aeolian processes - most recently reporting the discovery of massive fields of sand dues on Titan. Lorenz has written over 100 papers in rherefereed literature and over 20 polular articls in magazines such as Spaceflight, Astronomy Now and New Scientist.

James Zimbelman has been a Geologist at the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C for nearly 20 years. His principal interest is Planetary Geology - Geologic analysis of remote sensing data of Mars, geologic mapping of Mars and Venus, study of long lava flows on the terrestrial planets and field studies of volcanic, aeolian and pluvial features. He has published over 50 peer-reviewed papers and maps and several hundred abstracts

Klappentext
Four major developments in dune research have occurred in recent years.Following the discovery of dunes on Saturn's moon, Titan, a whole new dimension has been added to aeolian studies.The vast amounts of data now coming in from Mars bring a new perspective to the abundant dunes on that planet.In the last decade, radar methods and high-resolution imaging have revolutionized the global observation of Earth's dunes.New instrumentation has improved field study capabilities, and powerful computational tools have opened new methods of simulating dune formation and evolution. Lavishly illustrated with over 300 photographs and figures, many in color, Dune Worlds covers all these developments to provide a unique and comprehensive overview of dunes, how we study them, and how they relate to their planetary environments.Lavishly illustrated with over 300 photographs and figures, many in color, Dune Worlds covers all thesedevelopments to provide a unique and comprehensive overview of dunes, how we study them, and how they relate to their planetary environments.

Inhalt

Dune Physics.- Dune Trafficability soil mechanics, effects on mobility on Earth, Mars and elsewhere.- Earth.- Mars.- Titan.- Elsewhere.- Field Studies - Overview.- Laboratory Studies.- Computer Models.- Conclusions.