Grand Falls dune field (GFDF) is located on the Navajo Nation, ~70 km NE of Flagstaff, AZ. This active dune field displays a range of morphologies, including barchans, smaller dunes, and ripples, and is bimodal in composition. The felsic component is likely derived from the Little Colorado River, and the mafic component (basaltic grains) is locally sourced from nearby cinder cones [1]. GFDF is an excellent analog site for both active dunes on Mars and other planetary bodies that have dune-like features (e.g., Venus and Titan). We have set up a meteorological station within the dune field that records temperature, barometric pressure, relative humidity, wind direction, wind speed, solar radiation, and precipitation every 15 minutes during the windy season and every hour during the calmer months. Nine BlazeVideo cameras have been set up near the meteorological station, surrounding an active ripple field to capture ripple migration. Images are taken at a set time to record sand movement. Ripples are also imaged using a NIKON D250 camera, in which data is then processed using the software Agisoft Metashope Professional to create digital elevation models of the ripple field. Data presented here span from December 2021 to December 2022.
[1] Hayward, R. K. et al. (2010) 2nd Int. Plan. Dunes Wrkshp., Abstract #2004.