Boulders on Mercury

Kreslavsky, M. A.; Zharkova, Anastasia; Head, J. W.; Gritsevich, Maria

doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2021.114628

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…This trend may be due to downslope mass transport processes efficiently erasing the cratering roughness signature in favor of a background regolith textural signature whose short-baseline roughness increases with slope. This regolith textural component may be related to the "elephant-hide" texture that is ubiquitous on sloped terrain (Zharkova et al 2020;Kreslavsky et al 2021). NAC images confirm that low topographic slope class 1 tends to be significantly more heavily cratered than high topographic slope class 1, with only the latter exhibiting the elephant-hide texture (Figures A28-A30).…”

Section: Roughness Mapsmentioning

confidence: 83%

A New View of the Lunar South Pole from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA)

Barker,

Mazarico,

Neumann

et al. 2023

Planet. Sci. J.

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Upcoming missions to the lunar south pole require detailed maps over large areas to fully characterize landing sites locally and regionally and to place their data into proper geologic context. To that end, we enhanced the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter altimetry data set for the south polar region, from which we produced new maps of topography, topographic roughness, and permanently shadowed regions (PSRs). The roughness maps reveal a diversity of terrains characterized by hectometer-scale roughness that is controlled in this region primarily by cratering and downslope mass transport. The south polar region is littered with linear roughness features of order ∼1–10 km wide and approximately tens to hundreds of kilometers long hypothesized to be secondary impacts within extended ejecta rays. Nonuniformities in these features could reflect variations in secondary impactor properties and/or target terrain properties. Poleward of 80° S, the PSR cumulative size–frequency distribution (CSFD) shows an approximately power-law behavior whose exponent has a spatial variation of ∼10%. PSRs with areas <1 km2 contain 15% ± 5% of the total PSR area. Finally, we studied the effect of false positives and false negatives on the accuracy of the measured PSR CSFD and on the area for any individual PSR. The new maps presented here have many applications in the science and exploration of the lunar south polar region, such as geologic mapping and traverse planning.

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Section: Roughness Mapsmentioning

confidence: 83%

A New View of the Lunar South Pole from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA)

Barker,

Mazarico,

Neumann

et al. 2023

Planet. Sci. J.

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“…In this section we investigate three hypotheses to explain subdued roughness within ROIs: (1) mass wasting due to high slopes within craters, (2) impact melt and debris infill within Mass wasting refers to the downward movement of material on sloped terrain, resulting in more efficient crater degradation (e.g., Tye et al 2015) and the appearance of "elephant-hide" texture (e.g., Zharkova et al 2020;Kreslavsky et al 2021). We test whether the detected subdued roughness within polar cold traps could be attributed to mass wasting by implementing restrictions on the terrain slope.…”

Section: Hypothesis Analysis and Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has been found that slopes steeper than ∼20°may promote the downward movement of material (Lucey et al 2014). However, lower slopes may also be affected by downslope mass movement and "elephant-hide" texture (Xiao et al 2013;Zharkova et al 2020;Kreslavsky et al 2021). Further, work by Tye et al (2015) found evidence that slope correlates with crater retention, even at a few degrees.…”

Section: Hypothesis Analysis and Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface Roughness at the Moon’s South Pole: The Influence of Condensed Volatiles on Surface Roughness at the Moon’s South Pole

Magaña,

Prem,

Deutsch

et al. 2024

Planet. Sci. J.

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Condensed volatiles within lunar permanently shadowed regions are of high scientific and resource utilization importance. Volatiles remain elusive and difficult to observe directly, due to low direct solar illumination. In this work, we investigate correlations between, as well as possible effects of, condensed volatiles and surface roughness. We analyze topographic roughness at 50 m and 30–120 m baselines of the lunar south pole (poleward of 85° S). We focus on six south polar craters of interest and their directly surrounding non-cold-trap areas: Faustini, Shoemaker, Haworth, Cabeus, Nobile, and an unnamed region. We further analyze six analogous equatorial craters to investigate the non-ice smoothing contributions: Morozov F, Rosenberger C, Van Maanen, Fraunhofer E, Brisbane, and Asclepi. Lastly, we compare a sunlit and a permanently shaded portion of the Amundsen crater floor. Utilizing data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter’s Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA), Lyman Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP), Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera, and Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment, we find subdued roughness within cold traps but determine that roughness is not a unique identifier of condensed volatiles. However, a correlation between LOLA roughness, LAMP normalized Off-band/On-band albedo, temperature, and water-ice stability suggests possible terrain softening due to condensed volatiles, although we cannot rule out dust ponding and/or fairy castle structure contributions. We conclude that LAMP volatile signatures at the topmost ∼100 nm may be indicative of volatile deposits at depths beyond the LAMP sensing capabilities.

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“…We apply this rate as a conservative estimate. However, Mercury has a significantly thicker regolith 32,33 compared to the Moon due to a greater regolith production rate 34 . Mercury also has a higher micrometeoric flux 35,36 hence increased abrasion of surface features by micrometeoric impactors is expected 37 .…”

Section: Length Depth and Age Of Extensional Grabensmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent tectonism on Mercury revealed by a global population of small grabens

Man

Rothery

Balme

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Since Mariner 10 first imaged Mercury in 1974, tectonic landforms, of which shortening structures dominate, have been well documented. Most tectonic structures on Mercury are thought to have formed, and been most active, early in the planet’s history but here we report the discovery of widespread young extensional grabens. These landforms occur as secondary tectonic features on larger, compressional tectonic structures and indicate continued activity of the parent structure. Extensional grabens are 10s to 100s of metres deep, tens of km in length and generally less than one kilometre wide. We calculate that they are ~300 million years old or younger, otherwise impact gardening would mask their signature. Together, the global distribution of extensional grabens and their young age provide compelling evidence that many of Mercury’s shortening structures have continued to move until geologically recent times.

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Boulders on Mercury

Cited by 8 publications

References 39 publications

A New View of the Lunar South Pole from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA)

A New View of the Lunar South Pole from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA)

Surface Roughness at the Moon’s South Pole: The Influence of Condensed Volatiles on Surface Roughness at the Moon’s South Pole

Recent tectonism on Mercury revealed by a global population of small grabens

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