Mapping and spatial statistical analysis of Mars Yardangs

Mars yardang fields were mapped using the newly available high-resolution Context Camera (CTX) mosaics (30 degrees N to 30 degrees S) through visual interpretation and manual digitization. We classified the Martian yardangs into three types according to their shapes: long ridge, inverted hull and curvilinear shapes, and found that the number of long ridge yardang fields account for 77.97% of all 394 yardang fields. The mapping results show that the total area of yardang fields is about 734,115 km(2), within which the area of the Medusae Fossae Formation (MFF) yardangs is about 562,640 km(2). We also identified and digitized individual yardang bodies wider than 500 m in the CTX mosaics. The resultant 466 yardang bodies are subsequently used as samples for statistical analysis of the morphometric parameters. Among all of the orientations, N-S is the dominant orientation of the yardang samples, and the average length and width are 5626 m and 993 m respectively. The length to width ratios vary from 1.2:1 to 46.9:1 within (30 degrees N to 30 degrees S) and vary from 1.5:1 to 46.9:1 in the most studied MFF. The mapping and statistical results provide important information about the spatial distribution of Mars yardangs and their morphological characteristics, which will be valuable to further study of the formation and evolution of Mars yardangs, and the aeolian environment.