Characterization of the morphometry of impact craters hosting polar deposits in Mercury's north polar region
Name
Zuber_Characterization of.pdf
Size
2.95 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
c7eb21181aa34d882ef2317bca2a7ceb
Author(s)
Talpe, Matthieu J.
Neumann, Gregory A.
Solomon, Sean C.
Vilas, Faith
Zuber, Maria
Mazarico, Erwan Matias
Yang, Di, Ph. D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Date Issued
December 2012
Journal
Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets
Publisher
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Citation
Talpe, Matthieu J., Maria T. Zuber, Di Yang, Gregory A. Neumann, Sean C. Solomon, Erwan Mazarico, and Faith Vilas. “Characterization of the Morphometry of Impact Craters Hosting Polar Deposits in Mercury’s North Polar Region.” J. Geophys. Res. 117, no. E12 (December 2012): n/a–n/a. Copyright © 2012 by the American Geophysical Union
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Earth-based radar images of Mercury show radar-bright material inside impact craters near the planet's poles. A previous study indicated that the polar-deposit-hosting craters (PDCs) at Mercury's north pole are shallower than craters that lack such deposits. We use data acquired by the Mercury Laser Altimeter on the MESSENGER spacecraft during 11 months of orbital observations to revisit the depths of craters at high northern latitudes on Mercury. We measured the depth and diameter of 537 craters located poleward of 45°N, evaluated the slopes of the northern and southern walls of 30 PDCs, and assessed the floor roughness of 94 craters, including nine PDCs. We find that the PDCs appear to have a fresher crater morphology than the non-PDCs and that the radar-bright material has no detectable influence on crater depths, wall slopes, or floor roughness. The statistical similarity of crater depth-diameter relations for the PDC and non-PDC populations places an upper limit on the thickness of the radar-bright material (<170 m for a crater 11 km in diameter) that can be refined by future detailed analysis. Results of the current study are consistent with the view that the radar-bright material constitutes a relatively thin layer emplaced preferentially in comparatively young craters.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1029/2012je004155
