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Dust Devils

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Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

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Definition

Dust Devils are meteorological phenomena that have been detected in the atmospheres of Earth and Mars. They are thermally driven atmospheric vortices that are filled with loose materials such as dust and sand. The vertical velocity is predominantly upward. Their size ranges with heights from a few meters (on Earth and Mars) to several kilometers (only on Mars) and from a few meters to hundreds of meters in diameter. The first images of Dust Devils in the Martian atmosphere were taken by the Viking orbiter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. DLR, Institut für Planetenforschung, Rutherfordstrasse 2, 12489, Berlin, Germany

    Barbara Stracke

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  1. Barbara Stracke
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Correspondence to Barbara Stracke .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Stracke, B. (2014). Dust Devils. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_462-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_462-5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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