Near Polar Dunes

Today's VIS image shows a sand sheet located on the floor of an unnamed crater just north of the edge of the South polar ice cap. The morphology of the dune is different from other sand dunes in lower latitudes. The difference is due to ice cementing the sand grains, making the movement of sand materials almost impossible. Only during the summer season the very surface loses this interstitial ice enough for small movements during windy conditions.