Mountain Views News          Saturday, November 21, 2015

14

THE WORLD AROUND US

 Mountain Views News Saturday, November 21, 2015 


NASA’S CURIOSITY MARS ROVER HEADS TOWARD ACTIVE DUNES

On its way to higher layers of the mountain where 
it is investigating how Mars’ environment changed 
billions of years ago, NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover 
will take advantage of a chance to study some 
modern Martian activity at mobile sand dunes.

 In the next few days, the rover will get its first 
close-up look at these dark dunes, called the 
“Bagnold Dunes,” which skirt the northwestern 
flank of Mount Sharp. No Mars rover has 
previously visited a sand dune, as opposed to 
smaller sand ripples or drifts. One dune Curiosity 
will investigate is as tall as a two-story building and 
as broad as a football field. The Bagnold Dunes are 
active: Images from orbit indicate some of them are 
migrating as much as about 3 feet per Earth year. 
No active dunes have been visited anywhere in the 
solar system besides Earth.

 “We’ve planned investigations that will not only 
tell us about modern dune activity on Mars but will 
also help us interpret the composition of sandstone 
layers made from dunes that turned into rock long 
ago,” said Bethany Ehlmann ofCaltech and JPL..

 As of Nov. 16, Curiosity has about 200 yards 
remaining to drive before reaching “Dune 1.” The 
rover is already monitoring the area’s wind direction 
and speed each day and taking progressively closer 
images, as part of the dune research campaign. At 
the dune, it will use its scoop to collect samples 
for the rover’s internal laboratory instruments, 
and it will use a wheel to scuff into the dune for 
comparison of the surface to the interior.

 What distinguishes actual dunes from 
windblown ripples of sand or dust, like those 
found at several sites visited previously by Mars 
rovers, is that dunes form a downwind face steep 
enough for sand to slide down. The effect of wind 
on motion of individual particles in dunes has been 
studied extensively on Earth, a field pioneered by 
British military engineer Ralph Bagnold (1896-
1990). Curiosity’s campaign at the Martian dune 
field informally named for him will be the first in-
place study of dune activity on a planet with lower 
gravity and less atmosphere.

 Observations of the Bagnold Dunes with the 
Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer 
on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter indicate 
that mineral composition is not evenly distributed 
in the dunes. The same orbiter’s High Resolution 
Imaging Science Experiment has documented 
movement of Bagnold Dunes.

 “We will use Curiosity to learn whether the wind 
is actually sorting the minerals in the dunes by 
how the wind transports particles of different grain 
size,” Ehlmann said.

 Ehlmann and Nathan Bridges of the Johns 
Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory, 
Laurel, Maryland, lead the Curiosity team’s 
planning for the dune campaign.

 “These dunes have a different texture from dunes 
on Earth,” Bridges said. “The ripples on them are 
much larger than ripples on top of dunes on Earth, 
and we don’t know why. We have models based on 
the lower air pressure. It takes a higher wind speed 
to get a particle moving. But now we’ll have the first 
opportunity to make detailed observations.”

 THE KELSO DUNES in California’s Mojave 
Desert are a good example of somewhat similar 
dunes on Earth. These dunes, covering 45 square 
miles near the town of Baker, are called “booming” 
or “singing” dunes because of the low-pitched 
resonant noise they produce—especially when 
someone slides down their steep face. Do the 
Bagnold Dunes on Mars also sing, when slid down? 
That’s something for an expedition of human 
“Martians” to check out, some day.

 You can contact Bob Eklund at:

b.eklund@MtnViewsNews.com.


CHRISTOPHER Nyerges

LESSONS FROM THE TONGVA

Foods That Were Eaten In This Area


[Nyerges is the author of 
“Guide to Wild Foods” 
and other books. He leads 
classes to identify common 
wild foods. He can be reached at Box 41834, Eagle 
Rock, CA 90041, or www.ChristopherNyerges.com]

 As Thanksgiving day approaches, many are 
thinking about their family meals with turkey 
and cranberries, which were possibly eaten at the 
“first Thanksgiving” on the east coast of North 
America. Out west, in what is now Southern 
California, other foods were eaten.

 Growing up in this area, I had the regular 
opportunity to hike these mountains of my 
“backyard.” I had a great interest in the native 
American culture, and foods. What did our 
ancestors 
eat for centuries if they did not practice 
agriculture? I wondered if I could find the food 
plants that the natives regularly used.

 But simply identifying these plants was only 
the first step. I also wanted to taste the foods that 
had sustained my geographical 
ancestors. Such 
personal experience would be invaluable if I ever 
got lost while hiking. These plants still grow all 
around us, in the canyons, river beds, vacant lots, 
and in the chaparral and mountains.

 In July 1769, Father Junipero Serra, writing of 
the areas near Pasadena, said, “We found vines 
(wild) of a large size and in some cases quite 
loaded with grapes. We have seen Indians in 
immense numbers.... They continue to make 
a good subsistence 
from various seeds and by 
fishing.” Wild oats (Avena fatua) and various 
other grasses were harvested for their grain. 
And the wild grape vines can still be found in 
some of the foothill canyons, though they rarely 
produce fruit today.

ACORNS

 The main plant staple was the acorn which falls 
from the oak trees every fall. Acorns are edible, 
but very bitter when raw due to the presence of 
tannic acid. To remove the bitterness, the Native 
Americans first shelled the acorns and ground 
them in stone mortars. The meal was then put 
directly in a hollowed-out section of sandy stream 
bed, or placed in a shallow basket. Then hot water 
was poured over the meal so that the tannin 
would wash out. The processed acorn meal was 
then made into bread, or boiled into a mush-like 
soup and eaten cold. 

PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS

 The Indian residents of this area ate the young 
succulent pads and the sweet fruits of the prickly 
pear cactus. Stands of the prickly pear cactus 
are still common. I eat the raw pads in salads, 
or peeled, diced, and cooked in omelettes. The 
fruits are tasty raw, or made into juice, pie, jam, 
and even ice cream.

YUCCA

 The yucca plant, the most important fibre plant 
for all the Southwestern 
Indians, was also a source 
of food. Both the green and ripened fruits were 
roasted or boiled, and the newly-emerging yucca 
flower stalks were also cut down and cooked like 
a giant asparagus, peeled, and eaten.

 The leaves of yucca were one of the most 
important fibre sources. Once processed to get 
just the hardy fibre, the leaves were made into rope 
or braids, which were then used to weave sandals, 
construct shelters, make packs, bow strings, nets, 
etc.

BERRIES AND CHERRIES

 The Gabrielinos ate the native wild berries, 
such as wild grapes, elderberries, blackberries, 
currants and gooseberries, manzanitas (“little 
apple” in Spanish). Another common food was 
the wild or holly-leaf cherry (Prunus ilicifolia). 
The fruit consists of a large stone wrapped by a 
thin layer of pulp. These wild cherry pits were 
dried, ground, and leached in much the same way 
as acorns, and mixed with other ingredients into 
a “soup.” All of these berries and fruits can still be 
found throughout the foothills, making good trail 
snacks for hikers.

 Though cranberries don’t grow here in the wild, 
we do have the common native toyon tree. These 
are perhaps the closest you’ll get to cranberries 
out west. The fruits are dry and astringent when 
picked off the tree, but when boiled and sweetened, 
can be used in a variety of dishes.

 Learning the skills and specialized knowledge 
of our ancestors provides us with one tool to 
break our unnecessary 
dependence upon others. 
Learning these skills instills a deep desire to 
“live lightly on the earth” as much as possible. 
Knowing these basic survival skills enhances our 
day-to-day life, and certainly increases our safety 
when we travel into the forest.


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