The Effect of Antecedent Topography on Complex Crater Formation

Abstract Impact craters that form on every planetary body provide a record of planetary surface evolution. On heavily cratered surfaces, new craters that form often overlap antecedent craters, but it is unknown how the presence of antecedent craters alters impact crater formation. We use overlapping...

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Main Authors: Don R. Hood, Brennan W. Young, Aviv L. Cohen‐Zada, Peter B. James, Ryan C. Ewing, Jeffery S. Lee
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024-07-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL108608
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author Don R. Hood
Brennan W. Young
Aviv L. Cohen‐Zada
Peter B. James
Ryan C. Ewing
Jeffery S. Lee
author_facet Don R. Hood
Brennan W. Young
Aviv L. Cohen‐Zada
Peter B. James
Ryan C. Ewing
Jeffery S. Lee
author_sort Don R. Hood
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Impact craters that form on every planetary body provide a record of planetary surface evolution. On heavily cratered surfaces, new craters that form often overlap antecedent craters, but it is unknown how the presence of antecedent craters alters impact crater formation. We use overlapping complex crater pairs on the lunar surface to constrain this process and find that crater rims are systematically lower where they intersect antecedent crater basins. The rim morphology of the new crater depends on the depth of the antecedent crater and the degree of overlap between the craters. Our observations suggest that new craters do not always obliterate underlying topography and that transient rim collapse is altered by antecedent topography. This study represents the first formalization of the influence of antecedent topography on rim morphology and provides process insight into a common impact scenario relevant to the geology of potential Artemis landing sites.
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spelling doaj-art-adfa8a69c70d4e70b61aab3db1fc41c22025-08-20T03:49:46ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072024-07-015114n/an/a10.1029/2024GL108608The Effect of Antecedent Topography on Complex Crater FormationDon R. Hood0Brennan W. Young1Aviv L. Cohen‐Zada2Peter B. James3Ryan C. Ewing4Jeffery S. Lee5Department of Geoscience Baylor University Waco TX USATexas A&M University Geology and Geophysics College Station TX USATexas A&M University Geology and Geophysics College Station TX USADepartment of Geoscience Baylor University Waco TX USATexas A&M University Geology and Geophysics College Station TX USADepartment of Geoscience Baylor University Waco TX USAAbstract Impact craters that form on every planetary body provide a record of planetary surface evolution. On heavily cratered surfaces, new craters that form often overlap antecedent craters, but it is unknown how the presence of antecedent craters alters impact crater formation. We use overlapping complex crater pairs on the lunar surface to constrain this process and find that crater rims are systematically lower where they intersect antecedent crater basins. The rim morphology of the new crater depends on the depth of the antecedent crater and the degree of overlap between the craters. Our observations suggest that new craters do not always obliterate underlying topography and that transient rim collapse is altered by antecedent topography. This study represents the first formalization of the influence of antecedent topography on rim morphology and provides process insight into a common impact scenario relevant to the geology of potential Artemis landing sites.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL108608crater formationlunar cratersartemiscrater morphology
spellingShingle Don R. Hood
Brennan W. Young
Aviv L. Cohen‐Zada
Peter B. James
Ryan C. Ewing
Jeffery S. Lee
The Effect of Antecedent Topography on Complex Crater Formation
Geophysical Research Letters
crater formation
lunar craters
artemis
crater morphology
title The Effect of Antecedent Topography on Complex Crater Formation
title_full The Effect of Antecedent Topography on Complex Crater Formation
title_fullStr The Effect of Antecedent Topography on Complex Crater Formation
title_full_unstemmed The Effect of Antecedent Topography on Complex Crater Formation
title_short The Effect of Antecedent Topography on Complex Crater Formation
title_sort effect of antecedent topography on complex crater formation
topic crater formation
lunar craters
artemis
crater morphology
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL108608
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