Images were captured between 2006 to 2020 by High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera onboard Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
New research on Mars reveals that when rock falls on the Red Planet it leaves a trace which is in a beautiful herringbone-like pattern. The study of these ephemeral features on Mars was published last month in Geophysical Research Letters. The study says most fade over the course of a few years.
Through this research, scientists have now spotted thousands of tracks on Mars which was created by tumbling boulders. These boulder tracks can be used to pinpoint recent seismic activity on the planet. Delicate chevron-shaped piles of Martian dust and sand, frame the tracks.
"Mars is currently active," says Dr S Vijayan, Assistant Professor with the Planetary Science Division at the Physical Research Laboratory, who led the research. Rockfalls have also been spotted elsewhere in the solar system, including on the moon and even a comet.
The study states that it takes about two to four Martian years (four to eight Earth years) for these boulder tracks to disappear, whereas on Earth they are rarely preserved. These ejections and tracks can be used to recognise very recent surface processes on planetary surfaces.
Study details at a glance
When a boulder falls, at each bounce the regolith on the surface is thrown out in a unique pattern.
These patterns appear V-shaped, with the spread pointing downslope and spacing between each bounce is non-uniform.
The spatial spread of BFE varies from bounce-to-bounce and boulder-to-boulder.
The herringbone-like patterns of tracks on the surface are formed by the bouncing of boulders.
4,500 such tracks have been spotted in the nearly 900-kilometre length of the surface.
Nearly 30% of the ejections are observed in Cerberus Fossae region, suggesting it is one of the most seismically active regions.
Researchers glanced over thousands of images captured from 2006 through 2020 and came to the conclusion.
Images were captured by High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera onboard Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
High-Resolution camera found unique tracks all over indicating recent activity on the planet.
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 "Scientists spot tracks on Mars created by tumbling boulders")
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