Abstract
Abstract. At the present time, arguments continue regarding the migration speeds of Martian dune fields and their correlation with atmospheric circulation. However, precisely measuring the spatial translation of Martian dunes has been rarely successful due to the technical difficulties to quantitatively observe expected small surface migrations. Therefore, we developed a generic procedure to measure the migration of dune fields employing a high-accuracy photogrammetric processor and sub-pixel image correlator on the 25-cm resolution High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE). The established algorithms have been tested over a few Martian dune fields. Consequently, migrations over well-known crater dune fields appeared to be almost static for the considerable temporal periods and were weakly correlated with wind directions estimated by the Mars Climate Database. Only over some Martian dune fields, such as Kaiser crater, meaningful migration speeds (> 1m/year) considering photogrammetric error residual have been detected. Currently a technically improved processor to compensate error residual using time series observation is under development and expected to produce the long term migration speed over Martian dune fields where constant HiRISE image acquisitions are available.
Highlights
Martian dune migrations were reported by visual interpretations (Malin & Edgett, 2001) or by the machine vision method (Bridges et al, 2012)
To estimate the migration range at first, the crest line change was investigated using a time series image stack produced by our photogrammetric control strategy and Principle Component Analysis (PCA)
In spite of residual photogrammetric error, though it was minimized by our photogrammetric control strategy, it appeared that the estimated dune migration speed is within 1m/year
Summary
Martian dune migrations were reported by visual interpretations (Malin & Edgett, 2001) or by the machine vision method (Bridges et al, 2012). A precise measurement of the spatial translation of Martian dunes has not usually been feasible due to technical difficulties induced by the relatively small migration of target objects and the large error in radiometric/geometric image controls. In this study, the development of a robust migration measurement tool and its validation over actual Martian dune fields has been conducted. The processor was designed to trace the estimated dune migration, albeit slight, over the Martian surface by 1) the introduction of very high-resolution ortho images and stereo analysis based on hierarchical geodetic control for better initial point settings; 2) positioning error removal throughout the sensor model refinement with a non-rigorous bundle-block adjustment, which makes possible the co-alignment of all images in a time series; and 3) improved subpixel coregistration algorithms with a refinement stage conducted on a pyramidal grid processor and a blunder classifier. The established algorithms were tested using high resolution HiRISE images over three dune fields
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