The rate of movement for 3- and 10-cm-high granule ripples was documented in September of 2006 at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve during a particularly strong wind event. Impact creep induced by saltating sand caused ~24 granules min-1 to cross each cm of crest length during wind that averaged ~9 m s-1 (at a height well above 1 m), which is substantially larger than the threshold for saltation of sand. Extension of this documented granule movement rate to Mars suggests that a 25-cm-high granule ripple should require from hundreds to thousands of Earth-years to move 1 cm under present atmospheric conditions.
Doi:
10.1016/j.icarus.2009.03.033
Citation:
Zimbelman, James R., Irwin, Rossman P., III, Williams, Steven H., Bunch, Fred, Valdez, Andrew and Stevens, Scott. 2009. The rate of granule ripple movement on Earth and Mars. <i>Icarus<i>, 203(1): 71-76. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2009.03.033
