The rate of granule ripple movement on Earth and Mars

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.