USGS-Mars-MC-1 Map of Planum Boreum cropped

Aspledon Undae is one of the named northern circumpolar

dune field A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

s in the vicinity of

Planum Boreum Planum Boreum (Latin: "the northern plain") is the northern polar plain on Mars. It extends northward from roughly 80°N and is centered at . Surrounding the high polar plain is a flat and featureless lowland plain called Vastitas Borealis which e ...

, the

Martian Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has appeared as a setting in works of fiction since at least the mid-1600s. It became the most popular celestial object in fiction in the late 1800s as the Moon was evidently lifeless. At the time, the pred ...

North pole. It is named after one of the

classical albedo features on Mars The classical albedo features of Mars are the light and dark features that can be seen on the planet Mars through an Earth-based telescope. Before the age of space probes, several astronomers created maps of Mars on which they gave names to the fe ...

. Its name was officially approved by the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreac ...

(IAU) on 20 March 2007. Its name is

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

, and derives from the name of a town in

Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its lar ...

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...

, which, in turn, took its name from Aspledon ( grc, Ασπληδών), son of

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ch ...

, the ancient Greek god of the sea. The dunes of Aspledon Undae extend from latitude 71.47°N to 75.14°N and from longitude 305.83°E to 315.04°E (44.96°W – 54.17°W). Its centre is located at latitude 73.06°N, longitude 309.65°E (50.35°W), and has a diameter of 215.2 km. Aspledon Undae is the southernmost of the albedo-named dune fields of Planum Boreum, and lies to the south of

Hyperboreae Undae Hyperboreae Undae (Latin: "Far Northern Waves/Dunes") is one of the largest and densest dune fields of Planum Boreum, the Martian North Pole. It is named after one of the classical albedo features on Mars. Its name was officially approved by IAU ...

and southeast of

Siton Undae Siton Undae is one of the largest and densest dune fields in the vicinity of Planum Boreum, the Martian northern polar ice-cap. It is named after one of the classical albedo features on Mars. Its name was officially approved by IAU on 20 March 20 ...

. It is theorised that the formation of Aspledon Undae may have occurred during early erosion incidents of the Planum Boreum cavi unit, and that

Rupes Tenuis Rupes Tenuis ( la, thin cliff) is a Martian north polar scarp. It is named after one of the classical albedo features on Mars. Its name was officially approved by IAU in 1988. It extends from latitude 74.94°N to 82.2°N and from longitude 242 ...

may have also been a sand source, although it is now depleted. Other dune fields sharing the same formation history include

Olympia The name Olympia may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games * ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...

and

. Aspledon Undae, along with Hyperboreae, Siton, Olympia, and Alalos Undae is one of the five named northern circumpolar dune fields. However, unlike the other four, it is not one of the densest. The dune field of Aspledon Undae, along with those of Siton, Hyperboreae, and

Abalos Undae Abalos Undae (Latin for "Abalos Waves") is a dune field on Mars in the periphery of Planum Boreum, the Martian North pole. It is one of the officially named northern circumpolar dune fields, along with Olympia, Hyperboreae, and Siton Undae, ...

, overlays the lowlands of

Vastitas Borealis (Latin 'northern waste') is the largest lowland region of Mars. It is in the northerly latitudes of the planet and encircles the northern polar region. Vastitas Borealis is often simply referred to as the northern plains, northern lowlands or ...

. Aspledon Undae has been imaged by

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

2001 Mars Odyssey ''2001 Mars Odyssey'' is a robotic spacecraft orbiting the planet Mars. The project was developed by NASA, and contracted out to Lockheed Martin, with an expected cost for the entire mission of US$297 million. Its mission is to use spectr ...

robotic spacecraft using the

Thermal Emission Imaging System The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) is a camera on board the 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter. It images Mars in the visible and infrared parts of the electromagnetic spectrum in order to determine the thermal properties of the surface and to ...

(THEMIS) camera on board the spacecraft.

Formation

According to Tanaka et al.,

lies on two major basal units: The Rupes Tenuis unit and the Planum Boreum Cavi unit. The age of the Rupes Tenuis unit is early Amazonian, while the Planum Boreum Cavi unit overlays the Rupes Tenuis unit, and its age is Middle to Late Amazonian. The Olympia Undae unit may have formed during early denudation incidents of the Planum Boreum Cavi unit in its immediate neighbourhood. More distant dune fields from the Planum Boreum Cavi unit, such as Siton, Aspledon, and a large portion of

Olympia Undae Olympia Undae is a vast dune field in the north polar region of the planet Mars. It consists of a broad "sand sea" or erg that partly rings the north polar plateau (Planum Boreum) from about 120° to 240°E longitude and 78° to 83°N latitude. S ...

may have formed during earlier erosional events of the Planum Boreum Cavi unit. Other sources to these dune fields may include

, although this source is now considered to be exhausted.

References

{{Portal bar, Solar System Dunes on Mars Mare Boreum quadrangle

Formation

See also

References