Investigation of regional variation in Lunar crater morphometry from (Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter) LOLA observations

Abstract

The advent of global Digital Elevation Models of the lunar surface, obtained from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA), has allowed for a quantitative assessment of crater morphometry. 351 simple and complex craters in the Mare Serenitatis, far side highlands, near side highlands, and South Pole-Aitken basin are decomposed into 50 elevation profiles, from which key geometric crater properties are extracted. The geometric properties and their respective standard variation, such as height-to-diameter ratios, and average elevation profile are compared on a global level to investigate regional differences in terrain rheology and study the transition between the simple and complex crater regime. Furthermore, the relationship between known degradation mechanisms and crater morphometry is discussed, as well as the current state of quantitative methods to assess crater degradation. The resulting regional differences observed in crater morphometry are explained in the context of lunar geologic history. Finally, the addition of other crater geometric properties in future quantitative assessments will broaden the study of crater morphometry, and improvements to current methods are necessary to conclusively define degradation states in terms of quantitative factors.