A local dust storm in the Chryse region of Mars - Viking Orbiter observations

A local dust storm was observed near the Viking Lander 1 site by Viking Orbiter 1 in September, 1977, when the areocentric longitude of the sun (L sub s) was 340 deg (shortly before vernal equinox). The orbiter observations, which consisted of a time sequence of pictures, show that the storm moved at about 50 m/sec to the ENE from the Lunae-Planum region into the Chryse basin. Both baroclinic waves and topography may have been associated with the generation of the storm.