erosional forces. Vegetation changes As a fault moves, the material both at and beneath the surface gets disturbed. These disturbances often cause different rocks and sediment, which are composed of different minerals, as well as fluids to be brought to the surface. Different minerals can contain different nutrients and elements that either enrich soils around them, or alter them in such a way that makes it more difficult for plants to grow. These changes in the soil can cause noticeable changes in the vegetation and form a fault trace. Lineations Not only are large scale linear features indicative of fault traces but small lineations found on rock samples or rock faces also are. Slickenlines are one type of lineation which are linear gouges scraped into a rock from different rocks grinding along against each other. Slickenlines indicate a fault as well as its motion, which can be very useful in many studies. Topographic changes Similar to fault scarps, and often displayed as them, elevation changes can often be good indicators of a fault. A portion of the land can be dropped down or thrust up during faulting and these can be obvious fault trace indicators, especially if seen in linear formations. Riedel shears Riedel shear structures are common structures that can be identified within shear zones. These structures form during the early stages of fault development and eventually link up with each other in linear orientation to form a complete fault. Fault traces on Mars Mars has always been an interesting topic across scientific disciplines. The possibility of life existing on another planet has intrigued many throughout history and identifying features like faults could mean that there are more forces at work than previously thought. Using images captured by the Viking, Mars Express, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Odyssey missions, a 2008 study was able to identify a series of faults on the surface of Mars based on how their traces are expressed. These traces appear as erosion resistant ridges thought to have been formed by water deposited minerals within ancient fault zones. Finding these fault traces means that there may have been plate tectonics, geothermal interactions, and movement of ground water at some point in the planets history. These factors all have major potential to influence the chances of living organisms existing there. Fault traces and remote sensing Because of the rarity of linear features found in nature, technologies