Sastrugi sea ice than on multiyear ice. First-year ice is smoother than multiyear ice, which allows the wind to pass uniformly over the surface without topographic obstructions. Except during the melt season, snow is dry and light in climates cold enough for sea ice, allowing the snow to be easily blown and create sastrugi parallel to the wind direction. The locations of sastrugi are fixed by March in the northern hemisphere and may be linked to the formation of melt ponds. Melt ponds are more likely to form in the depressions between zastrugi on first-year ice. Sastrugi Sastrugi, or zastrugi, are
Surface features of Venus parabolic excavation cones and flows of lava-like debris. Recent Magellan images show over 6000 aeolian landforms, including dunes (or "undae"), wind streaks, and yardangs. Undae and yardangs have direct analogues on Earth and the process that creates them here can be applied to those seen on Venus. Large dune fields have been identified on the surface and the dunes range in size from meters to hundreds of meters. Similarly, yardang fields may exist in locations such as Mead crater. Wind streaks are parallel linear streaks that form as prevailing winds erode the surface geology. These features illustrate the erosive effect