Cyclic steps

Type of sediment wave

Cyclic steps are rhythmic bedforms associated with Froude super-critical flow instability. They are a type of sediment wave, and are created when supercritical sediment-laden water travels downslope through sediment beds. Each ‘step’ has a steep drop, and together they tend to migrate upstream. On the ocean floor, this phenomenon was first shown to be possible in 2006, although it was observed in open-channel flows over a decade earlier. Geological features appearing to be submarine cyclic steps have been detected in the northern lowlands of Mars in the Aeolis Mensae region, providing evidence of an ancient Martian ocean.

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