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Journal of Desert Research ›› 2025, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (6): 194-205.DOI: 10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2025.00142

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Classification and morphological characteristics of yardang landforms on Mars

Weikang Shi1(), Fang Ma2, Guoxiang Chen3, Junhuai Yang4   

  1. 1.School of Economics & Management,Nanchang University,Nanchang 330031,China
    2.History Culture and Tourism,Fuyang Normal University,Fuyang 236041,Anhui,China
    3.Pratacultural College,Gansu Agricultural University,Lanzhou 730070,China
    4.Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems,College of Earth and Environmental Sciences,Lanzhou University,Lanzhou 730000,China
  • Received:2025-07-10 Revised:2025-09-14 Online:2025-11-20 Published:2025-11-26

Abstract:

Yardang landform is one of the most widely distributed aeolian landforms on Mars, which contains abundant information about the Martian environment and the evolution history of the Martian surface. This study identifies and systematically analyzes the morphological characteristics of the global yardang landforms on Mars, and explores the Martian environmental information and geomorphological significance contained in the Martian yardangs by HiRISE images, CTX images, and other multi-source remote sensing images. The results show that the Martian yardang types are complex and diverse. By using the morphological classification methods and considering the morphological details, 17 types of yardangs on Mars are identified, among which bidirectional yardangs and V-shaped yardangs are rarely found on Earth. The probability cumulative curves of the morphological parameters of the yardangs on Mars all exhibit breakpoints and turning points, indicating that there are different group characteristics in the morphological parameters of the yardangs, and there is a significant difference in the scale of the yardangs. Although there is a certain correlation between the morphological parameters of the Mars yardang, this correlation differs from that of yardangs on Earth, indicating that there may be multiple evolution modes of the Martian yardang. The overall size of the Martian yadangs is larger than that of the Earth, but the length-width ratio of the Yardangs on Mars is similar to that of the Earth, indicating that the length-width ratio of a specific type of yardang is consistent regardless of changes in length and width. The length-to-width ratio of Martian yardangs are mainly less than 2∶1 and greater than 6∶1, indicating that Martian yardangs may not be in the mature stage of development.

Key words: Mars, yardang, distribution, classification, morphological characteristics

CLC Number: