¹J.O. Edgar,²J.A. Gould,³K. Badreshany,²S.P. Graham,¹J. Telling
Icarus (in Press) Open Access Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2024.116238]
¹School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, United Kingdom
²Faculty of Sciences, Agriculture and Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, United Kingdom
³Department of Archaeology, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom
Copyright Elsevier

The aeolian transport of sand generates fine material through abrasion. On Mars this process occurs at lower temperatures than on Earth, however, there is minimal data on the effects of temperature on aeolian abrasion rates. Here, results are reported of laboratory experiments where a suite of single-phase, Mars relevant minerals (feldspar, olivine, pyroxene, quartz and opal) were exposed to conditions simulating aeolian abrasion at temperatures common to the Martian surface (193 to 293 K). Our results suggest that mineral specific differences in solid phase parameters result in non-similar changes in abrasion rates with temperature. We propose this will ultimately exert a control on the composition and reactivity of the Martian surface.