Earth and Planetary Surface Processes
surface

Peer-Reviewed Publications

* denotes group members under direct supervision

  1. Chen, T.G., S. Newdick, J. Di, N. Ongole, M.G.A. Lapôtre, M. Pavone, M.R. Cutkosky (2024). Locomotion as manipulation with ReachBot. Science Robotics, 9(89), doi: 10.1126/scirobotics.adi9762 [link]
  2. Courrech du Pont, S., D. Rubin, C. Narteau, M.G.A. Lapôtre, M. Day, P. Claudin, I. Livingstone, M.W. Telfer, J. Radebaugh, C. Gadal, *A. Gunn, P.A. Hesp, S. Carpy, C.S. Bristow, A.C.W. Baas, R.C. Ewing, G.F.S. Wiggs (accepted). Complementary classifications of aeolian dunes based on morphology, dynamics, and fluid dynamics. Earth-Science Reviews, doi: 10.1016/j.earscirev.2024.104772 [link]
  3. Finotello, A., A. Ielpi, M.G.A. Lapôtre, E. Lazarus, M. Ghinassi, L. Carniello, S. Favaro, D. Tognin, A. D'Alpaos (2042). Vegetation enhances curvature-driven dynamics in meandering rivers. Nature Communications, 15, 1968, doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-46292-x [link].
  4. *Prieur, N., *B. Amaro, *E. Gonzalez, H. Kerner, S. Medvedev, L. Rubanenko, S. Werner, Z. Xiao, D. Zastrozhnov, M.G.A. Lapôtre (2023). Automatic characterization of boulders on planetary surfaces from high-resolution satellite images. J. Geophys. Res. Planet. 128(111). doi: 10.1029/2023JE008013 [link].
  5. *Rubanenko, L.,*A. Gunn, *S. Pérez-López, L. Fenton, R.C. Ewing, A. Soto, M.G.A. Lapôtre (2023). Global surface winds and sediment pathways on Mars from the morphology of barchan dunes. Geophys. Res. Lett. 50(18). doi: 10.1029/2022GL102610 [link].
  6. *Marvin, M.C., M.G.A. Lapôtre, *A. Gunn, M. Day, A. Soto (2023). Dune interactions record changes in boundary conditions. Geology. doi: 10.1130/G51264.1 [link].
  7. *Hasson, M., *M.C. Marvin, *A. Gunn, A. Ielpi, M.G.A. Lapôtre (2023). A depositional model for meandering rivers before land plants. Sedimentology. doi: 10.1111/sed.13121 [link].
  8. Kodama, S., T. Pico, N.J. Finnegan, M.G.A. Lapôtre, J.K. Willenbring (2023). Glacial isostatic adjustment modulates lateral migration rate and morphology of the Red River (North Dakota, USA and Manitoba, Canda). Geophys. Res. Lett. 50(15). doi: 10.1029/2023GL103995 [link].
  9. Ielpi, A., M.G.A. Lapôtre (2023). Modelling fire-induced perturbations in sediment flux based on stream widening and accelerated lateral migration. Catena, 228. doi: 10.1016/j.catena.2023.107173 [link].
  10. Ielpi, A., M.G.A. Lapôtre, A. Finotello, P. Roy-Léveillée (2023). Large sinuous rivers are slowing down in a warming Arctic. Nat. Clim. Chang. 13. doi: 10.1038/s41558-023-01620-9 [link].
  11. Ielpi, A., A. Graham, D. Viero, M.G.A. Lapôtre, A. Finotello, M. Ghinassi (2023). How is time distributed in a meandering-river floodplain? Geophys. Res. Lett. 50(2). doi: 10.1029/2022GL101285 [link].
  12. *Rubanenko, L., M.G.A. Lapôtre, R.C. Ewing, L.K. Fenton, *A. Gunn (2022). A distinct ripple-formation regime on Mars revealed by the morphometrics of barchan dunes. Nature Communications 13, 7156. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-34974-3 [link].
  13. Schneider, S., A. Bylard, T.G. Chen, P. Wang, M. Cutkosky, M.G.A. Lapôtre, M. Pavone (2022). ReachBot: A small robot for large mobile manipulation tasks. IEEE Aerospace Conference. doi: 10.1109/AERO53065.2022.9843346 [link].
  14. Steelquist, A.T., M.G.A. Lapôtre, G.E. Hilley (2022). Drainage initiation, expansion, and channel-head arrest in heterogenous bedrock landscapes of the Colorado Plateau. GSA Bulletin. doi: 10.1130/B36375.1 [link].
  15. Ielpi, A., M.G.A. Lapôtre (2022). Linking sediment flux to river migration in arid landscapes through mass balance. J. Sed. Res. 92(8), 695-703, doi: 10.2110/jsr.2022.118 [link].
  16. *Gunn, A., *L. Rubanenko, M.G.A. Lapôtre (2022). Accumulation of windblown sand in impact craters on Mars. Geology, 50(9), 981-985. doi: 10.1130/G49936.1 [link].
  17. Lapôtre, M.G.A., J.L. Bishop, A. Ielpi, D.R. Lowe, K.S. Siebach, N.H. Sleep, S.M. Tikoo (2022). Mars as a time machine to Precambrian Earth. J. Geol. Soc., 179(5), doi: 10.1144/jgs2022-047 [link].
  18. Lapôtre, M.G.A., M. Malaska, M. Cable (2022). The role of seasonal sediment transport and sintering in shaping Titan's landscapes: A hypothesis. Geophys. Res. Lett., 49(8), doi: 10.1029/2021GL097605 [link].
  19. Rubin, D., M.G.A. Lapôtre, A. Stevens, M. Lamb, C. Fedo, J. Grotzinger, S. Gupta, K. Stack, A. Vasavada, S. Banham, A. Bryk, G. Caravaca, J. Christian, L. Edgar, M. Malin (2022). Ancient winds, waves, and atmosphere in Gale crater, Mars, inferred from sedimentary structures and wave modeling. J. Geophys. Res. Planet., 127(4), doi: 10.1029/2021JE007162 [link].
  20. Ielpi, A., M.G.A. Lapôtre, M. Gibling, C.K. Boyce (2022). The impact of vegetation on meandering rivers. Nature Reviews Earth & Environ., 3, 165-178, doi: 10.1038/s43017-021-00249-6 [link].
  21. Diniega, S., D.M. Burr, M. Chojnacki, M.G.A. Lapôtre, C. Swann (2022). Martian dunes: A crucial record of present and past Mars surface environment and aeolian processes. Treatise on Geomorphology (2nd Edition), pp. 617-636, doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-818234-5.00177-2 [link].
  22. *Rubanenko, L., *S. Pérez-López, *J. Schull, M.G.A. Lapôtre (2021). Automatic detection and segmentation of barchan dunes on Mars and Earth using a convolutional neural network. IEEE J-STARS, doi: 10.1109/JSTARS.2021.3109900 [link].
  23. Diniega, S., A.M. Bramson, B. Buratti, P. Buhler, D.M. Burr, M. Chojnacki, S.J. Conway, C.M. Dundas, C.J. Hansen, A.S. McEwen, M.G.A. Lapôtre, J. Levy, L. Mc Keown, S. Piqueux, G. Portyankina, C. Swann, T.N. Titus, J.M. Widmer (2021). Modern Mars' geomorphological activity, driven by wind, frost, and gravity. Geomorphology, 380, 107627, doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2021.107627 [link]. 
  24. Lapôtre, M.G.A., R.C. Ewing, & M.P. Lamb (2021). An evolving understanding of enigmatic large ripples on Mars. J. Geophys. Res. Planet., 126(2), doi:10.1029/2020JE006729 [link].
  25. Kurokawa, H., B.L. Ehlmann, M.C. De Sanctis, M.G.A. Lapôtre, T. Usui, N.T. Stein, T.H. Prettyman, A. Raponi, & M. Ciarnello (2020). A probabilistic approach to determination of Ceres' average surface composition from Dawn VIR and GRaND data. J. Geophys. Res. Planet., 125(12), doi: 10.1029/2020JE006606 [link].
  26. Ielpi, A., M.G.A. Lapôtre, A. Finotello, & M. Ghinassi (2020). Planform-asymmetry and backwater effects on river-cutoff kinematics and clustering. Earth Surf. Proc. Land., doi: 10.1002/esp.5029 [link].
  27. Lapôtre, M.G.A. & A. Ielpi (2020). The pace of fluvial meanders on Mars and implications for the western delta deposits of Jezero crater, Mars. AGU Advances, 1(2), doi: 10.1029/2019AV000141 [link].
  28. Lapôtre, M.G.A., J.G. O'Rourke, L.K. Schaefer, K.L. Siebach, C. Spalding, S. Tikoo, & R.D. Wordsworth (2020). Probing space to understand Earth. Nature Reviews Earth & Environ., doi: 10.1038/s43017-020-0029-y [link] [free pdf].
  29. Ielpi, A., M.G.A. Lapôtre, A. Finotello, M. Ghinassi, A. D'Alpaos (2020). Channel mobility drives a diverse stratigraphic architecture in the dryland Mojave River (California, USA). Earth Surf. Proc. Land., doi: 10.1002/esp.4841 [link].
  30. Ielpi, A., & M.G.A. Lapôtre (2020). A ten-fold slowdown in river meander migration driven by plant life. Nature Geosci., 13, 82-86, doi: 10.1038//s41561-019-0491-7 [link].
  31. Lapôtre, M.G.A., A. Ielpi, M.P. Lamb, R.W.E. Williams, & A.H. Knoll (2019). Model for the formation of single-thread rivers in barren landscapes and implications for pre-Silurian and martian fluvial deposits. J. Geoph. Res. Earth Surf., doi: 10.1029/2019JF005156 [link].
  32. Ielpi, A., & M.G.A. Lapôtre (2019). Barren meandering streams in the modern Toiyabe Basin of Nevada, and their relevance to the study of the pre-vegetation rock record. J. Sed. Res., 89(5), 399-415, doi: 10.2110/jsr.2019.25 [link]. ​
  33. Ielpi, A., & M.G.A. Lapôtre (2019). Biotic forcing militates against river meandering in the modern Bonneville Basin of Utah. Sedimentology, doi: 10.1111/sed.12562 [link]. ​
  34. Rampe, E.B., M.G.A. Lapôtre, & 27 other coauthors (2018). Sand mineralogy within the Bagnold Dunes, Gale crater, as observed in situ and from orbit. Geoph. Res. Letters, 45(18), 9488-9497, doi: 10.1029/2018GL079073 [link]. ​
  35. Weitz, C.M., R. Sullivan, M.G.A. Lapôtre, S. Rowland, J. Grant, M.M Baker, & A. Yingst (2018). Sand grain sizes and shapes in eolian bedforms at Gale crater, Mars. Geoph. Res. Letters, 45(18), 9471-9479, doi: 10.1029/2018GL078972 [link]. ​
  36. Lapôtre, M.G.A., R.C. Ewing, C.M. Weitz, K. Lewis, M.P. Lamb, B.L. Ehlmann, & D.M. Rubin (2018). Morphologic diversity of martian ripples: Implications for large-ripple formation. Geoph. Res. Letters, 45(19), 10229-10239, doi: 10.1029/2018GL079029 [link].
  37. Lapôtre, M.G.A., & E.B. Rampe (2018). Curiosity’s investigation of the Bagnold Dunes, Gale crater: Overview of the two-phase campaign and introduction to the special collection. Geoph. Res. Letters, 45(19), 10200-10210, doi: 10.1029/2018GL079032 [link]. ​
  38. Baker, M., M.G.A. Lapôtre, M. Minitti, C. Newman, R. Sullivan, C.M. Weitz, B.L. Ehlmann, A. Vasavada, K. Edgett, N.T. Bridges, & K. Lewis (2018). The Bagnold Dunes in southern summer: Active sediment transport on Mars observed by the Curiosity rover. Geoph. Res. Letters, 45(17), 8853-8863, doi: 10.1029/2018GL079040 [link].
  39. Lapôtre, M.G.A., M.P. Lamb (2018). Substrate controls on valley formation by groundwater on Earth and Mars. Geology, 46(6), 531-534, doi: 10.1130/G40007.1 [link].
  40. Baker, M.M., C.E. Newman, M.G.A. Lapôtre, R. Sullivan, N.T. Bridges, K.W. Lewis (2018). Coarse sediment transport in the modern Martian environment. J. Geophys. Res. Planets, 123(6), 1380-1394, doi: 10.1002/2017JE005513 [link].
  41. Banham, S., S. Gupta, D. Rubin, J. Watkins, K.S. Edgett, D.Y. Sumner, J.P. Grotzinger, K. Lewis, L. Edgar, K. Stack, R. Barnes, J. Bell III, M.D. Day, R.C. Ewing, M.G.A. Lapôtre, N. Stein, F. Rivera-Hernandez, A. Vasavada (2018). Ancient Martian aeolian processes and palaeogeomorphology reconstructed from the Stimson formation on the lower slope of Aeolis Mons, Gale crater, Mars. Sedimentology, 65(4), 993-1042, doi:10.1111/sed.12469 [link].
  42. Conte, D., & 14 coauthors including M.G.A. Lapôtre (2017). Advanced concept for a crewed mission to the Martian moons. Acta Astronautica, 139, 545-563, doi: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2017.07.044 [link].
  43. Ewing, R.C., M.G.A. Lapôtre, K. Lewis, M. Day, N. Stein, D. M. Rubin, N. T. Bridges, R. Sullivan, W. W. Fischer, M. P. Lamb, S. Gupta (2017). Sedimentary processes of the Bagnold Dunes: Implications for the eolian rock record of Mars. J. Geophys. Res. Planets, 122(12), 2544-2573, doi: 10.1002/2017JE005324 [link].
  44. Ehlmann, B.L., K.S. Edgett, B. Sutter, C.N. Achilles, M.L. Litvak, M.G.A. Lapôtre, A.A. Fraeman, & 32 coauthors (2017). Chemistry, mineralogy, and grain properties at Namib and High Dunes, Bagnold Dune Field, Gale crater, Mars: A synthesis of Curiosity rover observations. J. Geophys. Res. Planets, 122(12), 2510-2543, doi: 10.1002/2017JE005267 [link].
  45. Bridges, N.T., & 11 coauthors including M.G.A. Lapôtre (2017). Martian aeolian activity at the Bagnold Dunes, Gale crater: The view from the surface and orbit. J. Geophys. Res. Planets, 122(10), 2077-2110, doi: 10.1002/2017JE005263 [link].
  46. Lapôtre, M.G.A., B.L. Ehlmann, & S.E. Minson (2017). A probabilistic approach to remote compositional analysis of planetary surfaces. J. Geophys. Res. Planets, 122(5), 983-1009, doi: 10.1002/2016JE005248 [link].
  47. Lapôtre, M.G.A., B.L. Ehlmann, S.E. Minson, R.E. Arvidson, F. Ayoub, A.A. Fraeman, R.C. Ewing, & N.T. Bridges (2017). Compositional variations in sands of the Bagnold Dunes, Gale crater, Mars, from visible-shortwave infrared spectroscopy and comparison to ground-truth from the Curiosity rover. J. Geophys. Res. Planets, 122(12), 2489-2509, doi: 10.1002/2016JE005133 [link].
  48. Lapôtre, M.G.A., M.P. Lamb, & B. McElroy (2017). What sets the size of current ripples? Geology, 45(3), 243-246, doi: 10.1130/G38598.1 [link].
  49. Kreisch, C.D., J.A. O’Sullivan, R.E. Arvidson, D.V. Politte, L. He, N.T. Stein, J. Finkel, E.A. Guiness, M.J. Wolff, & M.G.A. Lapôtre (2017). Regularization of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter CRISM along-track oversampled hyperspectral imaging observations of Mars. Icarus, 282, 136-151, doi: 10.1016/j.icarus.2016.09.033 [link].
  50. Lapôtre, M.G.A., R. Ewing, M.P. Lamb, W.W. Fischer, J. P. Grotzinger, D. Rubin, K. Lewis, M. Ballard, M. Day, S. Gupta, & 12 other coauthors (2016). Large wind ripples on Mars: A record of atmospheric evolution. Science, 353(6294) 55-58, doi: 10.1126/science.aaf3206 [open-access link].
  51. Lapôtre, M.G.A., M.P. Lamb, R.M.E. Williams (2016). Canyon formation constraints on the discharge of catastrophic outburst floods of Earth and Mars. J. Geophys. Res. Planets, 121(7), 1232-1263, doi: 10.1002/2016JE005061 [link].
  52. Lapôtre, M.G.A., M. P. Lamb (2015). Hydraulics of floods upstream of horseshoe canyons and waterfalls. J. Geophys. Res. Earth Surface, 120(7), 1227-1250, doi: 10.1002/2014JF003412 [link].
  53. Arvidson, R.E., & 21 coauthors including M.G.A. Lapôtre (2015). Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Opportunity observations of Burns formation and underlying strata: Crater hopping at Meridiani Planum. J. Geophys. Res. Planets, 120(3), 429-451, doi:10.1002/2014JE004686 [link].
  54. Perron, J.T., P.W. Richardson, K.L. Ferrier, & M.G.A. Lapôtre (2012). The root of branching river networks. Nature, 492, 100-103, doi:10.1038/nature11762 [link].