International audienceLiquid water may exist on the Martian surface today, albeit transiently and in a metastable state under the low atmospheric surface pressure. However, the identification of liquid water on Mars from observed morphological changes is hampered by our limited understanding of how metastable liquids interact with sediments. Here, we present lab experiments in which a block of ice melts and seeps into underlying sediment, and the resulting downslope fluid propagation and sediment transport are tracked. In experiments at Martian surface pressure, we find that pure water boils as it percolates into the sediment, inducing grain saltation and leading to wholesale slope destabilization: a hybrid flow mechanism involving both wet and dry processes. For metastable brines, which are more stable under Martian conditions than pure water, saltation intensity and geomorphological impact are reduced; however, we observed channel formation in some briny flow experiments that may be analogous to morphologies observed on Mars. In contrast, under terrestrial-like experimental conditions, there is little morphological impact of seeping water or brine, which are both stable. We propose that the hybrid flow mechanism operating in our experiments under Martian surface pressure could explain observed Martian surface changes that were originally interpreted as the products of either dry or wet processes

Linear dune gullies are a sub-type of martian gullies. As their name suggests they only occur on sandy substrates and comprise very long (compared to their width) straight or sinuous channels, with relatively small source areas and almost nonexistent visible deposits. Linear dune gullies have never been observed on terrestrial dunes and their formation process on Mars is unclear. Here, we present the results of the first systematic survey of these features in Mars' southern hemisphere and an indepth study of six dunefields where repeat-imaging allows us to monitor the changes in these gullies over time. This study was undertaken with HiRISE images at 25-30 cm/pix and 1 m/pix elevation data derived from HiRISE stereo images. We find the latitudinal distribution and orientation of linear dune gullies is broadly consistent with the general population of martian gullies. They occur predominantly between 36.3°S and 54.3°S, and occasionally between 64.6°S and 70.4°S. They are generally oriented towards SSW (at bearings between 150° and 260°). We find that these gullies are extremely active over the most recent 5 Martian years of images. Activity comprises: (1) appearance of new channels, (2) lengthening of existing channels, (3) complete or partial reactivation, and (4) disappearance of gullies. We find that gully channels lengthen by ~100 m per year. The intense activity and the progressive disappearance of linear dune gullies argues against the hypothesis that these are remnant morphologies left over from previous periods of high obliquity millions of years ago. The activity of linear dune gullies reoccurs every year between the end of winter and the beginning of spring (Ls 167.4° -216.6°), and coincides with the final stages of the sublimation of annual CO₂ ice deposit. This activity often coincides spatially and temporally with the appearance of Recurrent Diffusing Flows (RDFs)digitate-shaped, dark patches with low relative albedo (up to 48% lower than the adjacent dune) that encompass the active site. South-and SSW-facing dune slopes are those which preferentially host CO2 frost deposits, however, it is only those with angles of ~20° just below the crest which possess linear dune gullies, suggesting a slope-limited formation process. These observations provide a wealth of temporal and morphometric data that can be used to undertake numerical modelling, to direct future image monitoring and guide laboratory experiments that can be used to better constrain the formation process of these features.