Morphometric and rheological study of lunar domes of Marius Hills volcanic complex region using Chandrayaan-1 and recent datasets

Abstract

Marius Hills volcanic complex is one of the most important regions on the lunar surface having an abundant number of volcanic features like domes and cones. Systematic mapping of 106 domes/cones in the Marius Hills region was carried out in this study using high-resolution orthoimage and digital elevation models of Chandrayaan-1 and Kaguya missions. Various morphometric parameters like diameter, height, volume, flank slope, circularity index and form factor are derived for all the mapped domes. The rheological parameters, such as viscosity and eruption rate are estimated for isolated domes and cones superimposed over low domes. The morphometric and rheological properties of these domes are comparable to those located in the area near to Hortensius crater and other mare regions. Surface ages derived for a selected region in NW portion of the Marius Hills volcanic complex using crater size-frequency distribution technique yields ages of 2.98 and 1.91 Ga. It suggests that the domes in this region formed at about 2.98 Ga ago, and then, the younger mare basalts likely embayed this region about 1.98 Ga ago. Stratigraphic sequence of rilles, wrinkle ridge and domes shows that wrinkle ridges are the oldest, while the rilles are younger than the domes.