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South Pole Dust Storm. This picture of the periphery of the retreating ice cap was taken by the Viking Orbiter the day after perihelion (Mars' closest approach to the Sun). The cap had shrunk considerably since the time of the Argyre storm observation. The dust storm at the edge of the frost-covered area, which is just visible in the corner of the picture, is about 200 km across. Plumes of dust can be seen outside the boundaries of the main storm. This picture shows the first global storm in its last phase. Such storms are probably related to winds induced by great surface temperature contrasts. The image is about 800 km across. North is to the upper right.
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