Impact Craters Research Articles

Geology of the Neruda quadrangle (H13), Mercury

ABSTRACT We present the first geological map of the Neruda Quadrangle (H13), Mercury. H13 is in Mercury’s southern hemisphere between latitudes 22.5°S–65°S, and longitudes 90°E–180° covering a total area of just under 5 million km², equivalent to 6.5% of the planet’s surface. Map digitisation was carried out at scales between 1:300,000 and 1:700,000 for final presentation at 1:3,000,0000, from end-of-mission data products from NASA’s MESSENGER mission. We distinguish three main photogeologic plains units: intercrater, intermediate, and smooth plains. We also distinguish all craters and their materials ≥ 20 km in diameter based on their degradation state. We have completed two versions of the map, one using a three-class crater degradation scheme and one using a five-class crater degradation scheme. In addition, specific geological units were charted for the Rembrandt impact basin. This map has been constructed to provide context and targets for the ESA-JAXA BepiColombo mission to Mercury.

Comment on Rogozin et al., (2023), Morphology of Lakes of the Central Tunguska Plateau (Krasnoyarsk krai, Evenkiya): New Data on the Problem of the Tunguska Event of 1908

In a recent paper, Rogozin and coauthors present a morphologic/seismostratigraphic study of two small lakes, Lake Zapovednoye (LZ) and Lake Peyungda (LP), located 50‒60 km east from the alleged epicenter of the 1908 Tunguska Event (TE), a large explosion believed to have been caused by an extraterrestrial impact. Data presented in that paper suggest a similar (although not specified) origin of these two lakes and Lake Cheko, located close to the TE epicenter. This led Rogozin et al., to question the impact crater origin of Lake Cheko, whose depression was interpreted by Gasperini et al., as caused by the freefall of an extraterrestrial fragment, which survived an atmospheric explosion. We analyze Rogozin et al., data, focusing on similarities and differences between Lake Cheko, LZ and LP, to determine whether their findings are relevant to the TE problem.

Absolute dating and evolutionary model of large rock avalanches on Mars: Examples from the Hydraotes Chaos and Tiu Valles region

Landslides are geomorphological features observed on many planetary bodies, formed in a wide range of geological, geomorphological and environmental conditions. Hence, study of their morphological and morphometric characteristics, along with their absolute or relative dating, can improve the understanding of geological and environmental conditions at the time of their emplacement. On Mars, landslides are present over a very large part of the planet, and the most spectacular and best studied are those in Valles Marineris where many mass wasting phenomena occurred between Hesperian and Late Amazonian periods. The present study aims at improving the knowledge of Martian geological and geomorphological evolution including environmental conditions through absolute dating and morphological analysis of selected large landslides outside of Valles Marineris. These mass wasting features were used as proxies for revealing how active the relatively recent (Middle to Late Amazonian) geological environment of Mars was through the information of their trigger timings and degradation histories. The five landslides of our study, which have never been analyzed previously, are located in the region of Hydraotes Chaos and Tiu Valles near the dichotomy boundary. The geomorphological and morphometric analyses show that the studied landslides, classifiable as rock avalanches, exhibit morphological features and mobility similar to those of other terrestrial and Martian rock avalanches. The results obtained from the absolute dating reveal that these landslides occurred within a time range spanning from 835 Ma (±290) to 252 Ma (±100) ago, consistent with occurrences of other landslides in the equatorial region of Mars. The most plausible triggering factors include ground shaking resulting from meteoric impacts, marsquakes and volcanic events related to the evolution of Tharsis and Elysium regions during the Amazonian period. Local resurfacing events acting on the studied landslides are probably related to aeolian deflation and deposition, minor mass wasting events and impact cratering. Finally, the geomorphological characteristics of these landslide bodies and their absolute dating reveal a possible recent (< 250–150 Ma) tectonic activity along the flanks of Tiu Valles and the southern Hydraotes Channel.

Analysis of influencing factors on dust separation efficiency of new virtual impact separator based on CFD technology

Respirable dust in coal mines endangers the health of workers. To detect its concentration accurately and separate it effectively from the total dust volume is the first priority. In this study, to enhance the inadequate separation efficiency of respirable dust in coal mines and achieve continuous separation, a virtual 3D dust separation model was developed based on the virtual impact theory. The internal flow field, pressure field, and particle field distribution of the impact separator were simulated and analyzed. A model sample was fabricated using 3D printing technology, and the aerosol particle separation efficiency of the sample was experimentally evaluated with an optical particle size spectrometer and an experimental dust test platform. The results demonstrate that the separation efficiency of the virtual impact separator is better for 1 and 7 μm particles (95.52% and 2.33%, respectively) and worse for 3, 4.33, and 5 μm particles (78.91%, 59.37%, and 52.68%, respectively). The deviation between the experimental and simulation results ranges from 0.22% to 5.20%. When the inlet air velocity is 2.5 m/s, the separation efficiency of the virtual impact separator is generally better. Moreover, its trend aligns well with the BMRC curve; the deviation ranges from 0.65% to 4.40%. Consequently, this separator proves to be a viable instrument for efficient respirable dust separation during coal mining.

Ancient atmospheric noble gases preserved in post-impact hydrothermal minerals of the 200 Ma-old Rochechouart impact structure, France

The evolution of Earth's atmosphere over billions of years provides important constraints on the geological history of our planet. However, major challenges in studying this have been finding samples in which ancient atmospheric signals are reliably preserved and precisely determining the age of the trapped atmosphere. Hydrothermal minerals can preserve fluid inclusions that formed from air-saturated waters. However, the use of hydrothermal minerals as paleo-atmospheric proxies is often limited by contamination by deeply-sourced crustal gases (e.g., radiogenic noble gases) and the difficulty of providing precise age constraints on the crystallization of the hydrothermal minerals.In this study, we tested the hypothesis that meteorite impact craters could provide an untapped archive of atmospheric evolution by investigating noble gases (Ne, Ar, Kr and Xe) contained in fluid inclusions within post-impact hydrothermal minerals from the Rochechouart impact structure (France). Impact craters can be dated using a variety of methods and because meteorite impacts cause localized fracturing of country rocks and the development of minor thermal anomalies, they are often associated with short-lived (up to a few Ma, depending on the size of the crater) and shallow hydrothermal systems dominated by surface-derived hydrothermal fluids.We found that the elemental ratios of noble gases in quartz from Rochechouart are close to the elemental ratios of modern Air. Furthermore, most noble gas isotope ratios are close to modern atmosphere, except for rare deviations caused by radiogenic ingrowth, nucleogenic effects and/or minor mass fractionation. After a minor correction for post-entrapment decay of 40K, an upper limit for the 40Ar/36Ar ratio of the ∼200 Ma atmospheric component trapped in Rochechouart quartz is determined as 292.7 ± 3.6 (2σ s.d.), which is significantly lower than the modern value of 298.6 ± 0.3. A Mesozoic 40Ar/36Ar ratio lower than 292.7 ± 3.6 is in line with the existing paleo-atmospheric dataset and existing models of the temporal evolution of the atmospheric 40Ar/36Ar ratio and conclusively proves the preservation of an ancient atmospheric component in rocks from Rochechouart. Given that meteorite impacts have occurred throughout the entire Earth's history they might collectively provide a unique, yet unexplored, repository of the atmospheric evolution. The same approach might also be applicable to investigating the atmospheric evolution of other terrestrial planets.

Automatic crater shape retrieval using unsupervised and semi-supervised systems

Impact craters are depressions formed due to impacts on the surface of planetary bodies. Recent deep learning-based crater detection methods assume craters as circular-shaped without much attention to extracting craters’ shape and morphology. Craters’ shape information (i.e., instance segmentation map for craters) can be helpful for many advanced analyses including crater formation and surface characteristics. However, publicly available ground truth catalogs for the lunar surface do not contain crater shape annotations and are also challenged by the missing craters problem. We attempt to solve these challenges by proposing a novel estimation and refinement-based approach using a combination of unsupervised and semi-supervised systems. Our method consists of (a) learning estimated crater segmentation (ECS) maps by a novel adaptive rim estimation algorithm (unsupervised system) using side information, (b) refining ECS by a cascade of Mask region-based convolutional neural networks (R-CNNs) to obtain refined crater segmentation (RCS) maps (semi-supervised system), and (c) combining RCS followed by predicting a highly accurate crater segmentation map. In the absence of any publicly available catalog for crater shape annotations, we conducted a ranking-based user study to compare against the state-of-the-art. The proposed method outperforms by achieving the best ranking for 63.53% crater images as compared to 9.67% for state-of-the-art. Further, the extracted shapes of the craters are utilized to improve the estimate of the craters’ diameter, depth, and other morphological factors to be made publicly available: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ghBf2FXNIJUEQkAM2GjLZNiIXKEhZMEB?usp=sharing.

Two Seismic Events from InSight Confirmed as New Impacts on Mars

We report confirmed impact sources for two seismic events on Mars detected by the NASA InSight mission. These events have been positively associated with fresh impact craters identified from orbital images, which match predicted locations and sizes to within a factor of 3, and have formation time constraints consistent with the seismic event dates. They are both of the very high frequency family of seismic events and are present with chirps (dispersed infrasound/acoustic waves). This brings the total number of confirmed Martian impact-related seismic events to eight thus far. All seismic events with chirp signals have now been confirmed as having been caused by impact cratering events. This includes all seismic activity within 100 km of the lander and two out of the four events with source locations between 100 and 300 km distance.

Measurements and calculations of CO2-broadening and shift coefficients of water vapor transitions in the 5150–5550 cm−1 spectral region

The high-resolution H2O absorption spectra induced by CO2 pressure have been recorded using a Bruker IFS 125 HR FTIR spectrometer at room temperature in the 5150–5550 cm–1 spectral region. A multispectrum fitting procedure has been applied to these spectra to recover the spectral line parameters using the speed-dependent Voigt profile. The water vapor line broadening and shift coefficients for lines of two vibrational bands ν2+ν3 and ν1+ν2 were obtained. An uncertainty of the broadening coefficients for the unblended H2O absorption lines was estimated to be 2–3%. The calculations of line-broadening and line-shifting parameters were performed using the semi-empirical method which is based on the impact theory and enables a realistic prediction modified by introducing additional parameters obtained by using empirical data. The root mean square deviations of measured and calculated line widths and shifts were 0.0086 and 0.0053 cm−1 atm−1, respectively.

Structural Transformations of Minerals in the Earth’s Mantle: the New High Pressure Polymorphous Modifications of Olivine and Wollastonite

There are reviewed important results obtained in the studies of HP-minerals during 2018–2022 years. The emphasis is made on the characterization of HP-polymorphs modifications of olivine (asimovite, poirierite) and wollastonite (breyite and davemaoite) discovered in this period. The structure of poirierite (ε-Mg2SiO4) contains the unique silicate chain Si3O9 with one tetrahedron in its period. Consequently its structural formula is Mg2[SiO3]O, and its intergrowth with wadsleyite/ringwoodite in shocked chondrites support the idea that transformations of olivine into ringwoodite becomes via forming of poirierite. The close ratio of cell parameters in wollastonite (1T) at 8.9 GPa and its synthetic analogue CaGeO3 exhibits the similarity of their structures. The HP/HT data confirm the stability of the wollastonite polymorph (1T, 2M, pseudowollastonite and synthetic analogue of breyite) at the upper mantle conditions. The crystal structures and composition of new НР-minerals discovered as inclusions in diamonds, in meteorites and in the rocks near terrestrial impact craters provide the richer information on the complicate petrology of deep-seated geospheres which cannot be obtained on the base of laboratory experiments.

Study on Slag Splashing Behavior in a 120 t Converter Based on Physical and Mathematical Simulation

The service life of converter linings is crucial for efficiency and emission reduction. Slag splashing performance is essential in steelmaking. This study constructs a physical model based on a specific 120 ton converter using similarity principles. Dimensional analysis is employed to investigate process parameters and fluid properties. The influence of various process parameters on slag splashing performance is analyzed. Mathematical simulations using the volume of fluid method are conducted to quantitatively assess the volume of slag splashing, determine the optimum lance height, and examine the effects of nitrogen flow rate on the impact crater profile, splashing shape, and angle. The results demonstrate that when the fluid viscosity and surface tension meet specific conditions, the lance height in the physical model and the prototype satisfy geometric similarity. However, as no suitable fluid meeting the conditions is found, a corrective relation for the lance height between the physical model and the prototype is established to optimize the process parameters. By adjusting the lance height and bottom gas flow rate, damaged areas can be repaired, while modifying the nitrogen flow rate alters the shape of the slag splashing, resulting in uniform slag splashing.

Influence of the Yucatan earthquake event

In recent years, seismic wave effects caused by meteorite impacts have been widely observed. The meteorite impact event that occurred 66 million years ago is one of the most famous impact events in Earth’s history. The influences of the seismic wave field generated by this collision event on the solid Earth itself is worth exploring. Therefore, this study initially estimated the seismic source parameter information based on the multiring structure of the meteorite crater, and then simulates the seismic event. The results of this study provide a possible explanation for the formation of the Earth’s tectonic plates. The findings of this study suggest that the seismic wave field generated by the meteorite impact event 66 million years ago may have caused the destruction of the Solid Earth, leading to the formation of the boundary between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Plate. Simultaneously, this study has important significance for inspiring the development of new geoscientific methods.

An Analysis of Glacial and Fluvial Morphologies within Impact Craters in the Equatorial Region in Arabia Terra, Mars

Arabia Terra is an ancient and large terrain which is located north of the Martian equator. Due to its ancient nature, it is heavily cratered, and these craters hold evidence of geologic processes during Mars’ history. During periods of high obliquity (>35°) it has been suggested that polar ice migration can occur at the lower latitudes. By investigating the impact craters within a localized area in the equatorial region of Arabia Terra, it can be determined how far this migration once occurred. This study aimed to investigate craters ≥1 km in diameter within the 0°N–10°N, 340°E–350°E area of Arabia Terra and determine the frequency of glacial and fluvial morphologies within this region. We divided the search area into two sections, 0°N–5°N, 340°E–350°E and 5°N–10°N, 340°E–350°E, to help identify any latitudinal variations between the glacial and fluvial morphologies.

Boundary Delineator for Martian Crater Instances with Geographic Information and Deep Learning

Detecting impact craters on the Martian surface is a critical component of studying Martian geomorphology and planetary evolution. Accurately determining impact crater boundaries, which are distinguishable geomorphic units, is important work in geological and geomorphological mapping. The Martian topography is more complex than that of the Moon, making the accurate detection of impact crater boundaries challenging. Currently, most techniques concentrate on replacing impact craters with circles or points. Accurate boundaries are more challenging to identify than simple circles. Therefore, a boundary delineator for Martian crater instances (BDMCI) using fusion data is proposed. First, the optical image, digital elevation model (DEM), and slope of elevation difference after filling the DEM (called slope of EL_Diff to highlight the boundaries of craters) were used in combination. Second, a benchmark dataset with annotations for accurate impact crater boundaries was created, and sample regions were chosen using prior geospatial knowledge and an optimization strategy for the proposed BDMCI framework. Third, the multiple models were fused to train at various scales using deep learning. To repair patch junction fractures, several postprocessing methods were devised. The proposed BDMCI framework was also used to expand the catalog of Martian impact craters between 65°S and 65°N. This study provides a reference for identifying terrain features and demonstrates the potential of deep learning algorithms in planetary science research.

Study on the volume of landslides in lunar impact craters

The lunar exploration project is of great significance, among which the statistics and measurement of lunar landslide are an important part of lunar exploration. With the help of Google Earth software, lunar image data were obtained, and the volume calculation and analysis of landslides in 14 meteorite impact craters on the Moon were performed using the Alfred S. McEwen formula. It is found by calculation and observation that the diameter of the crater is proportional to the volume of the landslide in most of the meteorite impact craters on the moon.

Formation of Australasian tektites from gravity and magnetic indicators

The parent impact crater of Australasian tektites has not been discovered so far, but a consensus has been accepted on its location in a wider area of Indochina. Recently, an alternative location has been suggested in the Badain Jaran Desert (BJD), Northwest China. Employing gravity and magnetic data derived from satellites, possible presence of an impact structure in BJD is investigated. The gravity parameters include the free air gravity disturbance, its vertical derivative component and total horizontal gradient (THG), strike alignment (SA), and Bouguer anomaly with its first vertical derivative and tilt angle. The magnetic parameters include the anomalous total magnetic field (TMF), its reduced to the pole transformation (RTP), the first vertical derivative of the TMF vertical component (Bzz), tilt angle (TA), and logistic total horizontal gradient (LTHG). Both the gravity and magnetic indicators support the presence of the impact structure. Gravity parameters display typical annular gravity highs circumscribing a gravity low. SA analysis reveals preferred parallel directions, implying the susceptibility of special zones to the impact shock waves, both within and beyond the rim. TMF reveals a large magnetic anomaly in the southern part of the proposed crater, and RTP displaces and restricts it further into the rim. Bzz weakens the long wavelength anomalies, amplifies the superficial ones, and separates them horizontally. TA and LTHG delineate the deep-seated and shallow magnetic signals related to the peak and border magnetization, respectively.

Planetary scientific target detection via deep learning: A case study for finding shatter cones in Mars rover images

AbstractPast, present, and forthcoming planetary rover missions to Mars and other planetary bodies are equipped with a large number of scientific cameras. The very large number of images resulting from this, combined with tight time constraints for navigation, measurements, and analyses, pose a major challenge for the mission teams in terms of scientific target evaluation. Shatter cones are the only macroscopic evidence for impact‐induced shock metamorphism and therefore impact craters on Earth. The typical features of shatter cones, such as striations and horsetail structures, are particularly suitable for machine learning methods. The necessary training images do not exist for such a case; therefore, we pursued the approach of producing them artificially. Using PRo3D, a viewer developed for the interactive exploration and geologic analysis of high‐resolution planetary surface reconstructions, we virtually placed shatter cones in 3‐D background scenes processed from true Mars rover imagery. We use PRo3D‐rendered images of such scenes as training data for machine learning architectures. Terrestrial analog studies in Ethiopia supported our lab work and were used to test the resulting neural network of this feasibility study. The result showed that our approach with shatter cones in artificial Mars rover scenes is suitable to train neural networks for automatic detection of shatter cones. In addition, we have identified several aspects that can be used to improve the training of the neural network and increase the recognition rate. For example, using background data with a higher resolution in order to have equal resolution of object (shatter cone) and Martian background and increase the number of objects that can be placed in the training data set. Also using better lighting reconstructions and a better radiometric adaption between object and Martian background would further improve the results.

Twinned calcite as an indicator of high differential stresses and low shock pressure conditions during impact cratering

AbstractShock‐related calcite twins are characterized in calcite‐bearing metagranite cataclasites within crystalline megablocks of the Ries impact structure, Germany, as well as in cores from the FBN1973 research drilling. The calcite likely originates from pre‐impact veins within the Variscan metagranites and gneisses, while the cataclasis is due to the Miocene impact. Quartz in the metagranite components does not contain planar deformation features, indicating low shock pressures (&lt;7 GPa). Calcite, however, shows a high density (&gt;1/μm) of twins with widths &lt;100 nm. Different types of twins (e‐, f‐, and r‐twins) crosscutting each other can occur in one grain. Interaction of r‐ and f‐twins results in a‐type domains characterized by a misorientation relative to the host with a misorientation angle of 35°–40° and a misorientation axis parallel to an a‐axis. Such a‐type domains have not been recorded from deformed rocks in nature before. The high twin density and activation of different twin systems in one grain require high differential stresses (on the order of 1 GPa). Twinning of calcite at high differential stresses is consistent with deformation during impact cratering at relatively low shock pressure conditions. The twinned calcite microstructure can serve as a valuable low shock barometer.

A subsurface layer on asteroid (101955) Bennu and implications for rubble pile asteroid evolution

We use observations of Bennu's impact craters, and measurements of particle sizes seen in images from the OSIRIS-REx (the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification Regolith Explorer sample-return mission) sampling event, to conclude there is a ∼ global sub-surface layer of finer-grained material on Bennu. The layer is evident in particle measurements from areas inside and around craters, roughness assessments of crater interiors vs. surrounding terrain, crater colors, crater depth-to-diameter (d/D) ratios, and the global crater size-frequency distribution. All data sets show a transition in behavior at crater diameters between 20 m and 40 m, with the most abrupt changes at ∼25 m diameter. Based on the depth of ∼25 m diameter craters, we infer that the layer is 1–4 m thick. The reddest craters are the youngest craters, and there is a trend to older ages as redness decreases. The decrease in redness is characterized by an initial, rapid fade, followed by a slower fade. The reduction in expected crater abundance with diameters ∼40–80 m, when extrapolating from larger sizes, is consistent with impact armoring caused by deeper, large sub-surface boulders depressing crater diameter. The existence of the layer appears to be a natural byproduct of impacts across a wide energy range and can be described as a “punctuated equilibrium”: small, frequent impacts contribute to the local production of finer-grained particles and locally mix smaller particles into the subsurface; larger, less-frequent large impacts eject the fine-grained material, exposing interior boulders, and resetting the finer-grained particle population in that area. Other processes, e.g. thermal fracturing, could also contribute to the production of fine-grained material on rapid timescales. Extrapolating to the broader asteroid population and considering the production and preservation of small particles is related to target strength, surface acceleration, and impact speeds, we expect to find such layers on other asteroids, and that the layer thickness and depth will vary with composition, size, and orbital parameters.

Morphologic and morphometric differences between gullies formed in different substrates on Mars: new insights into the gully formation processes

Abstract. Martian gullies are kilometer-scale, geologically young features with a source alcove, transportation channel, and depositional fan. On the walls of impact craters, these gullies typically incise into bedrock or surfaces modified by the latitude-dependent mantle (LDM; inferred as consisting of ice and admixed dust) and glaciation. To better understand the differences in the alcoves and fans of gullies formed in different substrates and infer the flow types that led to their formation, we have analyzed the morphology and morphometry of 167 gully systems in 29 craters distributed between 30 and 75∘ S. Specifically we measured length, width, gradient, area, relief, and relief ratio of the gully alcoves and fans; Melton ratio, relative concavity index, and perimeter; and form factor, elongation ratio, and circularity ratio of the gully alcoves. Our study reveals that gully alcoves formed in LDM/glacial deposits are more elongated than the gully alcoves formed in bedrock, and they possess a distinctive V-shaped cross section. We have found that the mean gradient of fans formed by gullies sourced in bedrock is steeper than the mean gradient of fans of gullies sourced in LDM/glacial deposits. These differences between gullies were found to be statistically significant and discriminant analysis has confirmed that alcove perimeter, alcove relief, and fan gradient are the most important variables for differentiating gullies according to their source substrates. The comparison between the Melton ratio, alcove length, and fan gradient of Martian and terrestrial gullies reveals that Martian gully systems were likely formed by terrestrial debris-flow-like processes. Present-day sublimation of CO2 ice on Mars may have provided the adequate flow fluidization for the formation of deposits akin to terrestrial debris-flow-like deposits.

Modeling the Evolution of Lunar Regolith: 1. Formation Mechanism Through Individual Simple Impact Craters

AbstractThe production, distribution, and evolution of lunar regolith are critical in deciphering the lunar bombardment history and comprehending the transport of materials across the lunar surface, which are still not well understood. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive investigation of factors influencing the production and distribution of lunar regolith by individual simple craters. Combining our results for the impact‐generated regolith volume with a lunar production function, we developed an analytical model to describe the regolith growth process. We found that the strength of bedrock significantly affects the crater size and hence the volume of regolith produced especially for subdecameter impactors. The regolith volume produced by an individual impact crater is quantitatively characterized as a function of crater diameter and preimpact regolith thickness. This regolith production is primarily determined by how much bedrock is shattered, followed by the impact‐induced volume change of target material and lastly by the regolith volume created by secondary cratering processes. When a single crater forms, preimpact regolith thickness greatly affects the regolith distribution pattern; a larger fraction of the regolith will be distributed outside the crater rim for a deeper preimpact regolith layer. Our regolith evolution model can serve as a good first‐order estimation of the regolith growth process that provides better constraints on the regolith buffering trend than previous studies. This model also suggests that, when ignoring the contribution from large, distant impacts, the regolith growth process is dominated by impact craters at scales from a meter to a few hectometers.