Hi All

I'm a guest in this group and may have hit the wrong one? -
As a geologist I have studied the latest fine photoes of the Spirit landing
on Mars. And as a sedimentologist I'm conserned about the morphology of the
Mars surface. As it turns out, a lot of the Earth-bound consepts on
sedimentation and erosion may see a cerious revision to apply for Martian
conditions as the action of water (and hench biochemistry) and ice on Earth
are ever present here. Obviously wind is at work on shaping Mars.
Adding chemical points to the inter-sedimentary processes brings me to a
total stand-still. I don't seem to know any chemistry that does not involves
water.
A parameter of sediments is their state of chemical breakdown ...
quartz-sand can be seen as the totally mature sediment (in some parts of our
globe) with the more soluble parts separated (chalk, salt, clay).
What kind of processes should be expected on Mars - what order of events?
What kind of sorting-mechanism may work on Mars?
I don't seem to have the faintest clue.
A somewhat odd perspective of mine involves the idea, that the Earth oceans
are a sink of windborn dust. As this sink is absent on Mars, the more
chemically active constituents of a normal sediment is likely (?) to be ever
persent in the windborn dust and prone for ... what kind of processes?

Carsten