N. R. Baby, T. Kenkmann, K. Stephan, R. J. Wagner, E. Hauber
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Impact craters are a unique tool not only for inferring ages of planetary surfaces and examining geological processes, but also for exploring subsurface properties. We use ejecta blankets as proxies to obtain insights into the subsurface characteristics and the vertical stratification of Ganymede's icy crust. We investigated 36 prominent ray and halo craters using images acquired during the Voyager, Galileo, and Juno spacecraft missions. These craters exhibit diverse characteristics, including dark rays, bright rays, or their combination, in both continuous and discontinuous patterns as well as dark and bright halos. Dark halo craters (DHCs) have the smallest radial extents of their dark ejecta deposits, while dark ray craters (DRCs) have the largest. DRCs in dark terrain suggest a thickness of less than ∼2 km based on their excavation depths. DRCs and DHCs craters located in light terrain (LT) reveal significant heterogeneity in the uppermost portions of icy crust at various locations. DRCs and DHCs in the LT require the presence of at least one layer of dark material. This is the case if the LT is formed by tectonic rifting and graben formation. In contrast, if the LT is formed by tectonic spreading, bright halo and ray craters are expected to form.
期刊介绍:
Marking AGU’s second new open access journal in the last 12 months, Earth and Space Science is the only journal that reflects the expansive range of science represented by AGU’s 62,000 members, including all of the Earth, planetary, and space sciences, and related fields in environmental science, geoengineering, space engineering, and biogeochemistry.