New Craters on Mars: An Updated Catalog

We present a catalog of new impacts on Mars. These craters formed in the last few decades, constrained with repeat orbital imaging. Crater diameters range from 58 m down to <1 m. For each impact, we report whether it formed a single crater or a cluster (58% clusters); albedo features of the blast...

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Main Authors: Daubar, I.J., Dundas, C.M., McEwen, A.S., Gao, A., Wexler, D., Piqueux, S., Collins, G.S., Miljković, Katarina, Neidhart, Tanja, Eschenfelder, J., Bart, G.D., Wagstaff, K.L., Doran, G., Posiolova, L., Malin, M., Speth, G., Susko, D., Werynski, A.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP180100661
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/90184
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author Daubar, I.J.
Dundas, C.M.
McEwen, A.S.
Gao, A.
Wexler, D.
Piqueux, S.
Collins, G.S.
Miljković, Katarina
Neidhart, Tanja
Eschenfelder, J.
Bart, G.D.
Wagstaff, K.L.
Doran, G.
Posiolova, L.
Malin, M.
Speth, G.
Susko, D.
Werynski, A.
author_facet Daubar, I.J.
Dundas, C.M.
McEwen, A.S.
Gao, A.
Wexler, D.
Piqueux, S.
Collins, G.S.
Miljković, Katarina
Neidhart, Tanja
Eschenfelder, J.
Bart, G.D.
Wagstaff, K.L.
Doran, G.
Posiolova, L.
Malin, M.
Speth, G.
Susko, D.
Werynski, A.
author_sort Daubar, I.J.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description We present a catalog of new impacts on Mars. These craters formed in the last few decades, constrained with repeat orbital imaging. Crater diameters range from 58 m down to <1 m. For each impact, we report whether it formed a single crater or a cluster (58% clusters); albedo features of the blast zone (88% halos; 64% linear rays; 10% arcuate rays; majority dark-toned; 4% light-toned; 14% dual-toned); and exposures of ice (4% definite; 2% possible). We find no trends in the occurrences of clusters with latitude, elevation, or impact size. Albedo features do not depend on atmospheric fragmentation. Halos are more prevalent at lower elevations, indicating an atmospheric pressure dependence; and around smaller impacts, which could be an observational bias. Linear rays are more likely to form from larger impacts into more consolidated material and may be enhanced by lower atmospheric pressure at higher elevations. Light- and dual-toned blast zones occur in specific regions and more commonly around larger impacts, indicating excavation of compositionally distinct material. Surfaces covered with bright dust lacking cohesion are favored to form detectable surface features. The slope of the cumulative size frequency distribution for this data set is 2.2 for diameters >8 m (differential slope 2.9), significantly shallower than the slope of new lunar craters. We believe that no systematic biases exist in the Martian data set sufficient to explain the discrepancy. This catalog is complete at the time of writing, although observational biases exist, and new discoveries continue.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-901842023-06-07T08:14:34Z New Craters on Mars: An Updated Catalog Daubar, I.J. Dundas, C.M. McEwen, A.S. Gao, A. Wexler, D. Piqueux, S. Collins, G.S. Miljković, Katarina Neidhart, Tanja Eschenfelder, J. Bart, G.D. Wagstaff, K.L. Doran, G. Posiolova, L. Malin, M. Speth, G. Susko, D. Werynski, A. Science & Technology Physical Sciences Geochemistry & Geophysics Mars impact craters METEORITE IMPACTS THERMAL INERTIA SYSTEM FLUX We present a catalog of new impacts on Mars. These craters formed in the last few decades, constrained with repeat orbital imaging. Crater diameters range from 58 m down to <1 m. For each impact, we report whether it formed a single crater or a cluster (58% clusters); albedo features of the blast zone (88% halos; 64% linear rays; 10% arcuate rays; majority dark-toned; 4% light-toned; 14% dual-toned); and exposures of ice (4% definite; 2% possible). We find no trends in the occurrences of clusters with latitude, elevation, or impact size. Albedo features do not depend on atmospheric fragmentation. Halos are more prevalent at lower elevations, indicating an atmospheric pressure dependence; and around smaller impacts, which could be an observational bias. Linear rays are more likely to form from larger impacts into more consolidated material and may be enhanced by lower atmospheric pressure at higher elevations. Light- and dual-toned blast zones occur in specific regions and more commonly around larger impacts, indicating excavation of compositionally distinct material. Surfaces covered with bright dust lacking cohesion are favored to form detectable surface features. The slope of the cumulative size frequency distribution for this data set is 2.2 for diameters >8 m (differential slope 2.9), significantly shallower than the slope of new lunar craters. We believe that no systematic biases exist in the Martian data set sufficient to explain the discrepancy. This catalog is complete at the time of writing, although observational biases exist, and new discoveries continue. 2022 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/90184 10.1029/2021JE007145 English http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP180100661 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DE180100584 AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION restricted
spellingShingle Science & Technology
Physical Sciences
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Mars
impact craters
METEORITE IMPACTS
THERMAL INERTIA
SYSTEM
FLUX
Daubar, I.J.
Dundas, C.M.
McEwen, A.S.
Gao, A.
Wexler, D.
Piqueux, S.
Collins, G.S.
Miljković, Katarina
Neidhart, Tanja
Eschenfelder, J.
Bart, G.D.
Wagstaff, K.L.
Doran, G.
Posiolova, L.
Malin, M.
Speth, G.
Susko, D.
Werynski, A.
New Craters on Mars: An Updated Catalog
title New Craters on Mars: An Updated Catalog
title_full New Craters on Mars: An Updated Catalog
title_fullStr New Craters on Mars: An Updated Catalog
title_full_unstemmed New Craters on Mars: An Updated Catalog
title_short New Craters on Mars: An Updated Catalog
title_sort new craters on mars: an updated catalog
topic Science & Technology
Physical Sciences
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Mars
impact craters
METEORITE IMPACTS
THERMAL INERTIA
SYSTEM
FLUX
url http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP180100661
http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP180100661
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/90184