Studies of desert dust devils with a sensor network, timelapse cameras and thermal imaging

Dust devils are dry convective vortices that loft dust into the air, often a nuisance for outdoor activities and occasionally responsible for structural damage and fatal aircraft accidents. They are also the most prominent dynamic phenomena observed on the surface of Mars, where they influence the climate by acting as the principal mechanism of dust-raising. Atmospheric dust, and its removal by dust devils from solar panels, can also significantly impact the operation of spacecraft on the Martian surface. However, many aspects of dust devil behavior and properties are not well-understood. Here I report progress towards obtaining robust statistics on dust devil properties, and their 2-dimensional horizontal structure, using arrays of small dataloggers and wireless motes. I additionally report some ancillary observations using a thermal camera, and timelapse optical imagery derived from inexpensive consumer digital cameras.