What we know about Mars from its impact craters

Research Article| May 01, 2010 What we know about Mars from its impact craters Nadine G. Barlow Nadine G. Barlow † Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona 86011-6010, USA †E-mail: Nadine.Barlow@nau.edu Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Nadine G. Barlow † Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona 86011-6010, USA †E-mail: Nadine.Barlow@nau.edu Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 22 Sep 2009 Revision Received: 10 Nov 2009 Accepted: 10 Nov 2009 First Online: 08 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2674 Print ISSN: 0016-7606 © 2010 Geological Society of America GSA Bulletin (2010) 122 (5-6): 644–657. https://doi.org/10.1130/B30182.1 Article history Received: 22 Sep 2009 Revision Received: 10 Nov 2009 Accepted: 10 Nov 2009 First Online: 08 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Nadine G. Barlow; What we know about Mars from its impact craters. GSA Bulletin 2010;; 122 (5-6): 644–657. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/B30182.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract Martian impact craters provide insights into formation ages of terrain units, near-surface properties, and the planet's degradational history. Crater size-frequency distribution analyses allow determination of terrain unit relative ages, and extrapolation of the lunar crater chronology can provide estimates of absolute ages for these units. Such analyses indicate that Mars has been geologically active throughout its history, but it also retains extensive regions dating back to ca. 4 Ga. Higher cratering rates during the Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB) helped to create the Martian regolith, and formation of large impact basins helped to erode the initially denser Martian atmosphere and may have created the hemispheric dichotomy. Low global degradation rates since the end of LHB (ca. 3.8 Ga) resulted in well-preserved impact crater morphologies. The presence of layered ejecta blankets and central pits associated with fresh to moderately eroded craters suggests a volatile-rich crust. Impact crater depth-diameter relationships allow estimation of the vertical extent of crustal volatiles to depths greater than those probed by current spacecraft instrumentation. Temporal changes in subsurface ice reservoir depths are revealed by differences in layered ejecta onset diameter as a function of crater age. An understanding of the morphology and morphometry of pristine impact craters facilitates efforts to determine the amount and types of degradation and the periods over which they operated. Impact craters therefore play a major role in unraveling the climatic and geologic history of Mars. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.