The geomorphology of Ceres

Buczkowski, D. L.; Schmidt, B. E.; Williams, D. A.; Mest, S. C.; Scully, J. E. C.; Ermakov, A.; Preusker, Frank; Schenk, P.; Otto, Katharina A.; Hiesinger, H.; O’Brien, D. P.; Marchi, S.; Sizemore, H. G.; Hughson, K.; Chilton, H.; Bland, M. T.; Byrne, Shane; Schörghofer, N.; Platz, Thomas; Jaumann, R.; Roatsch, Thomas; Sykes, M. V.; Nathues, A.; Sanctis, M. C. De; Raymond, C. A.; Russell, C. T.

doi:10.1126/science.aaf4332

Cited by 112 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…The dwarf planet Ceres, orbited by the Dawn spacecraft since 2015, shows a variety of different impact craters of various ages, sizes, and morphology (Buczkowski et al, ; Hiesinger et al, ). Despite previous assumptions about an upper ice‐rich mantle (Castillo‐Rogez & McCord, ), Dawn showed that many of Ceres' craters are not viscously relaxed (Bland et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another indicator of Ceres' shallow composition is prominent fracturing of the surface, which is mostly associated with the southern craters Yalode and Uvara (Buczkowski et al, ; Crown et al, ). North of these craters, linear structures are evident as pit crater chains, grooves, or troughs, which extend in a quasi‐radial pattern northwest of Uvara crater and reach lengths of up to 143 km (Crown et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…North of these craters, linear structures are evident as pit crater chains, grooves, or troughs, which extend in a quasi‐radial pattern northwest of Uvara crater and reach lengths of up to 143 km (Crown et al, ). They are suggested to have formed as a result of extensional stresses possibly introduced by upwelling of salt or another low‐density material mobilized by convection or diapirism (Buczkowski et al, , Scully et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ceres Crater Degradation Inferred From Concentric Fracturing

et al. 2019

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The dwarf planet Ceres exhibits a collection of craters that possess concentric fractures beyond the crater rim. These fractures typically range from a few hundred meters to a few kilometers in length and are less than 300 m wide. They occur preferentially on elevated regions around the crater and are located less than a crater radius beyond the rim. In total there are 17 craters exhibiting concentric fracturing beyond the rim. They are located in the midlatitudes. The craters' diameters range between 20 and 270 km. We investigate the concentric fractures of three craters (Azacca, Ikapati, and Occator) in detail and suggest that the formation of such concentric fractures can be explained by a shallow (<10‐km) low‐viscosity (~1020‐Pa·s) subsurface layer extending underneath the crater and its surroundings. Finite element modeling of such a scenario applied to a typical concentrically fractured crater of 50‐km diameter implies that the depth of the low‐viscosity layer is comparable to the crater depth and the layer does not extend to the surface. Given that not every crater of comparable size on Ceres exhibits concentric fractures, it is also suggested that these conditions are only met locally and may be related to the surface temperature. Correlations of concentrically fractured craters with other volatile related features, such as pitted terrains and floor fracturing, suggest that the low‐viscosity subsurface layer may be enriched in ice.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ceres Crater Degradation Inferred From Concentric Fracturing

et al. 2019

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“…Modeling the shape of elastically flexed topography allows for the estimation of the elastic thickness of the mechanical layer being faulted. Despite a plethora of evidence suggesting Ceres' upper layer is rich in water ice (e.g., Buczkowski et al, 2016;Combe et al, 2016Combe et al, , 2019Fu et al, 2017; Estimates of these parameters through the analysis of flexurally supported topography have previously been done on the Earth (e.g., Kusznir et al, 1991;Lowry & Smith, 1994;Weissel & Karner, 1989), Venus, (e.g., O'Rourke & Smrekar, 2018), Mars (e.g., Grott et al, 2005;Ruiz et al, 2006), Ganymede (Nimmo & Pappalardo, 2004;Nimmo et al, 2002), Europa (Nimmo & Schenk, 2006;Ruiz, 2005), Tethys (Giese et al, 2007), and Enceladus (Giese et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Normal Faults on Ceres: Insights Into the Mechanical Properties and Thermal History of Nar Sulcus

Hughson

Russell

Schmidt

et al. 2019

Geophysical Research Letters

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We characterized two sets of extensional faults that comprise the Nar Sulcus region of Ceres by applying a cantilever model for fault related flexure and derived flexural rigidity values for Nar Sulcus between 2.0 · 1015 and 1.8 · 1016 N·m. This range of flexural rigidity makes Nar Sulcus mechanically akin to extensional structures on Ganymede, Europa, and Enceladus. We combine these observations with an inferred strength profile for the upper mechanical layer of Ceres and estimate its thickness to be 2.9–9.5 km. Surface heat fluxes at Nar Sulcus during its formation were likely ≥10 mW/m2 for estimated strain rates of 10−17–10−14 s−1, which is at least one order of magnitude larger than the current estimated global average. For geologically plausible heat fluxes between 10 and 100 mW/m2, we estimate an upper bound of ~30 vol.% mechanically silicate‐like phases in the near surface at Nar Sulcus, neglecting the effects of porosity.

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“…Dantu and Ikapati contain the largest examples of pitted terrains on the surface. Occator, Azacca, Gaue, Dantu, Haulani, and Ikapati contain fractures on their floor that are morphologically similar to class I lunar FloorFractured Craters (FFCs), whose formation is attributed to doming resulting from magmatic intrusion ( Schultz, 1976 ;Jozwiak et al, 2012 ;Buczkowski et al, 2016 ).…”

Section: Characteristics Of Craters With Floor Faculaementioning

confidence: 99%

The Formation and Evolution of Bright Spots on Ceres

Stein¹,

Ehlmann²,

Palomba³

et al. 2017

Geological Society of America Abstracts With Programs

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a b s t r a c tThe otherwise homogeneous surface of Ceres is dotted with hundreds of anomalously bright, predominantly carbonate-bearing areas, termed "faculae," with Bond albedos ranging from ∼0.02 to > 0.5. Here, we classify and map faculae globally to characterize their geological setting, assess potential mechanisms for their formation and destruction, and gain insight into the processes affecting the Ceres surface and near-surface. Faculae were found to occur in four distinct geological settings, associated predominantly with impact craters: (1) crater pits, peaks, or floor fractures (floor faculae), (2) crater rims or walls (rim/wall faculae), (3) bright ejecta blankets, and (4) the mountain Ahuna Mons. Floor faculae were identified in eight large, deep, and geologically young (asteroid-derived model (ADM) ages of < 420 ± 60 Ma) craters: Occator, Haulani, Dantu, Ikapati, Urvara, Gaue, Ernutet, and Azacca. The geometry and geomorphic features of the eight craters with floor faculae are consistent with facula formation via impact-induced heating and upwelling of volatile-rich materials, upwelling/excavation of heterogeneously distributed subsurface brines or their precipitation products, or a combination of both processes. Rim/wall faculae and bright ejecta occur in and around hundreds of relatively young craters of all sizes, and the geometry of exposures is consistent with facula formation via the excavation of subsurface bright material, possibly from floor faculae that were previously emplaced and buried. A negative correlation between rim/wall facula albedo and crater age indicates that faculae darken over time. Models using the Ceres crater production function suggest initial production or exposure of faculae by large impacts, subsequent dissemination of facula materials to form additional small faculae, and then burial by impact-induced lateral mixing, which destroys faculae over timescales of less than 1.25 Gyr. Cumulatively, these models and the observation of faculae limited to geologically young craters indicate relatively modern formation or exposure of faculae, indicating that Ceres' surface remains active and that the near surface may support brines in the present day.

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The geomorphology of Ceres

Cited by 112 publications

References 48 publications

Ceres Crater Degradation Inferred From Concentric Fracturing

Ceres Crater Degradation Inferred From Concentric Fracturing

Normal Faults on Ceres: Insights Into the Mechanical Properties and Thermal History of Nar Sulcus

The Formation and Evolution of Bright Spots on Ceres

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