Theoretical analysis of secondary cratering on Mars and an image-based study on the Cerberus Plains

Abstract

The issue of crater retention age estimates on planetary surfaces is discussed with an attempt to quantify the effect of overlapping primary and secondary impact crater populations in restricted crater diameter ranges. The approach to this problem is illustrated with a simple model production function where the secondary crater input is artificially enhanced. Extrapolation of such a secondary crater model distribution to a global record results in extraordinarily high crater frequencies that do not exist on Mars, and implies the need of detailed studies of the size-frequency distribution for remote secondary craters, to date poorly known. A key case, the martian crater Zunil and its secondary crater field, illustrate that reasonable predictions for the secondary crater size-frequency distribution at small (<100 m) crater diameters affected the standard model crater retention age for the Cerberus plains less than the statistical uncertainty. These observations show that age determination based on appropriate crater counting statistics is valid in a wide primary crater diameter range.