Copernicus as a Lunar Caldera

Abstract

All morphological features observed in and around the crater Copernicus are in agreement with a simple volcanic origin. The crater appears to be a caldera exhibiting the following features: multiple volcanoes on the crater floor, lava-floored terraces of different ages, interior leveed lava-flow channels, interior nested domes, near-horizontal lava or ash flows on the walls, exterior lava and tuff flows, and arcuate arrays of elongate volcanic craters on the caldera flanks. The orientation of caldera wall segments, volcano and dome alignments on the floor, and elongate (explosion or fluidized?) craters and craterlets on the flanks is parallel with major tectonic patterns in the Copernicus area. Copernicus is polygenetic. Impact-triggered volcanism is thought to be unlikely in this and other large lunar or terrestrial craters.