The Moon's bright albedo markings, known as swirls, are defined by
broad, bright, on-swirl areas separated by darker off-swirl lanes. Their
formation mechanism has long been debated and is key for understanding
the processing of the lunar surface, the mobility of the lunar soil
particles, and the effects of the space environment on planetary
surfaces. Here we present, for the first time, evidence that these
features do not necessarily cross the surface without regard to
topography or local terrain. Within portions of Mare Ingenii on the
lunar far-side, brighter on-swirl areas have statistically lower mean
elevations than adjacent, darker, off-swirl lanes. These topographic
characteristics provide constraints on the plausible formation
mechanisms for the swirls in Mare Ingenii, which in turn provide insight
into lunar soil migration and evolution. We believe this correlation
with topography argues for highly mobile dust transport across the lunar
surface.