NASA-гийн Curiosity хөлөг Ангараг гарагийн Гэйл тогоон дахь эртний чулуулгаас олон тэрбум жилийн өмнө тохиолдсон хүчтэй шороон шуурганы анхны тод нотолгоог олжээ.
Curiosity хөлөг 2024 оны арванхоёрдугаар сарын 12-нд буюу даалгаврынхаа 4,391 дэх өдөр (sol) Шарп уулын хажуу дахь Мирадор тогтоцыг судлах явцдаа Жоубон хавцал (Jawbone Canyon) хэмээх газраас өвөрмөц чулуулгуудыг гэрэл зургийн хальснаа буулгасан байна. Энэхүү судалгааны үр дүнг 2026 оны долдугаар сарын 1-нд Geology сэтгүүлд нийтэлжээ. Эрдэмтэд эдгээр чулуулгийн бүтцийг Ангараг гараг дээр урьд өмнө олдож байгаагүй “суперкритик авирагч салхин долгионы давхарга” хэмээн тодорхойлсон байна.
Судлаачдын тогтоосноор эдгээр чулуулгийн давхаргууд нь ердийн хавтгай болон авирагч долгионы хослолоос бүрддэг бөгөөд элс хуримтлагдах явцад салхины хурд өөрчлөгдсөнөөс үүсжээ. Жоубон хавцлаас олдсон нэг метр өргөн, 0.2 метр өндөр чулуулгийн хэсэгт зургаан төрлийн долгионы давхарга илэрсэн нь тухайн үед их хэмжээний элс хурдтайгаар хуримтлагдсаныг харуулж байна. Долгионы давхаргын чиглэлээс үзэхэд элс хойд зүг рүү шилжиж байсан нь салхи өмнө зүгээс хүчтэй үлээж байсныг илтгэж байгаа юм.
Эрдэмтдийн дүгнэлтээр, нэг давхарга нь 6-20 минутын дотор үүсэх боломжтой бөгөөд бүхэлдээ хэдэн цаг үргэлжилсэн хүчтэй шуурганы үр дүнд эдгээр бүтэц хадгалагдан үлджээ. Энэхүү нээлт нь Ангараг гарагийн уур амьсгал эрс тэс, хуурай нөхцөл рүү шилжихээс өмнө хэрхэн идэвхтэй байсныг ойлгоход чухал ач холбогдолтой юм. Эдгээр давхарга нь Ангараг гарагийн түүхэн дэх хамгийн богино хугацааны салхины өөрчлөлтийг харуулсан баримт болж байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
NASA’s Curiosity rover has found the first clear evidence of a powerful sandstorm that swept across Mars billions of years ago. Hidden inside layered rocks in Gale crater, the discovery reveals a brief but intense wind event that left behind a rare geological record of ancient Martian weather.
The discovery was made at Jawbone Canyon, a site explored by Curiosity while studying the Mirador formation on the slopes of Mount Sharp. The rover captured images of the unusual rocks on Dec. 12, 2024, during its 4,391st Martian day, or sol, of the mission.
The findings were described in a study published in Geology on July 1, 2026. The research team identified the structures as the first examples of supercritical climbing wind ripple strata ever found on Mars, offering a new look at how powerful winds shaped the planet’s surface in the distant past.
Curiosity Finds A Rare Record Of Martian Weather
Mars is covered with evidence of ancient wind activity, from dunes to large sediment deposits. Most of these features show how wind moved sand over long periods, but the rocks at Jawbone Canyon tell a much shorter story.
The outcrop contains layers created by two types of wind ripples: ordinary planar ripples and climbing ripples. These structures formed when sand continued to pile up on moving ripples instead of simply spreading across the surface.
The researchers identified six packages of ripple layers inside the rock. Some layers are flat and regular, while others contain curved and stacked patterns showing that large amounts of sediment arrived quickly.
The new study explains that these formations appeared when wind speed changed and when airflow was disrupted near a slope. These conditions caused sand to drop from the moving air and build up rapidly on the surface.
The main Jawbone Canyon rock block is about 1 meter wide and 0.2 meters high. Similar climbing ripple structures were also spotted at Dry Lake and other locations near Texoli butte.
Martian Rocks Reveal a Powerful Ancient Storm
The preserved ripple patterns give scientists clues about the strength and direction of the winds that created them. The shape of the layers shows that the sand moved toward the north, meaning the winds came from the south.
The climbing ripple layers formed at angles between 10 and 18 degrees, showing that sediment was deposited faster than the ripples could migrate. This process required strong winds and a high supply of sand.
“These climbing ripple sets occur in a thin succession, which suggests that they record a broader sustained event, such as a sandstorm or gale, lasting several hours or more. This is the first direct physical evidence of such an event on Mars,” the authors stated.
The researchers suggest that the process may have happened near the edge of a large ancient dune or a shallow wind-carved depression. These features could have changed the airflow and created areas where sand accumulated quickly.
The timing of these events was surprisingly short. The paper estimates that one 50-millimeter layer could have formed in around 6 to 20 minutes. The complete set of layers points to a larger storm-like event that lasted several hours or more.
Mars’ Hidden Climate Record Revealed
The discovery gives scientists another piece of the puzzle when studying how Mars changed from a planet with a more active environment into the cold and dry world seen today.
The Mirador formation contains many signs of ancient wind activity, helping researchers understand how the atmosphere and surface interacted billions of years ago. The newly identified ripple structures show that even brief weather events could leave a lasting mark in Martian rocks.
The study’s authors note that these wind-shaped layers are also a reminder that Mars and Earth can preserve similar geological patterns, even though their environments are very different. According to the researchers, these climbing ripple strata represent the shortest wind-related fluctuations identified in ancient Martian rocks so far.
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