Measuring impact crater depth throughout the solar system |
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| Authors: | Stuart J Robbins Wesley A Watters John E Chappelow Veronica J Bray Ingrid J Daubar Robert A Craddock Ross A Beyer Margaret Landis Lillian R Ostrach Livio Tornabene Jamie D Riggs Brian P Weaver |
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| Institution: | 1. Southwest Research Institute, 1050 Walnut St., Suite 300, Boulder, Colorado, 80302 USA;2. Whitin Observatory, Department of Astronomy, Wellesley College, 106 Central St, Wellesley, Massachusetts, 02481 USA;3. Meteorifics Inc., 1148 Sundance Loop, Fairbanks, Alaska, 99709 USA;4. Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85721 USA;5. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, 91109 USA;6. Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, MRC-315, Washington, District of Columbia, 20560 USA;7. Sagan Center at the SETI Institute and NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, 94043 USA;8. U.S. Geological Survey, Astrogeology Science Center, 2255 9. N. Gemini Dr., Flagstaff, Arizona, 86001 USA;10. Centre for Planetary Science and Exploration, Department of Earth Sciences, Western University, 1151 Richmond St., London, Ontario, N6A 5B7 Canada;11. Northwestern University, 339 East Chicago Ave., Chicago, Illinois, 60611 USA;12. Statistical Sciences, Los Alamos National Laboratory, CCS-6, Los Alamos, New Mexico, 87545 USA |
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| Abstract: | One important, almost ubiquitous, tool for understanding the surfaces of solid bodies throughout the solar system is the study of impact craters. While measuring a distribution of crater diameters and locations is an important tool for a wide variety of studies, so too is measuring a crater's “depth.” Depth can inform numerous studies including the strength of a surface and modification rates in the local environment. There is, however, no standard data set, definition, or technique to perform this data-gathering task, and the abundance of different definitions of “depth” and methods for estimating that quantity can lead to misunderstandings in and of the literature. In this review, we describe a wide variety of data sets and methods to analyze those data sets that have been, are currently, or could be used to derive different types of crater depth measurements. We also recommend certain nomenclature in doing so to help standardize practice in the field. We present a review section of all crater depths that have been published on different solar system bodies which shows how the field has evolved through time and how some common assumptions might not be wholly accurate. We conclude with several recommendations for researchers which could help different data sets to be more easily understood and compared. |
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