A Drone-Based Thermophysical Investigation of Barringer Meteorite Crater Ejecta

Abstract

Impact cratering processes are ubiquitous throughout our solar system, and the distribution and modification of impact ejecta are sensitive to variable environmental and geologic surface conditions. Here we examine the scale dependency of orbital versus field-based remote sensing data sets of a terrestrial impact structure by comparing low-resolution (90 m/pixel) orbital with high-resolution (23 cm/pixel) drone-based thermophysical data to measure ejecta distribution patterns of Meteor Crater in northeast Arizona, USA. Our results indicate that the thermophysical properties of the Meteor Crater ejecta blanket are well constrained at the scale of orbital data resolution. However, when high-resolution, drone-based data are binned using previously mapped unit boundaries, no clear correlations between thermophysical properties and surface composition are observed. A trend of increasing apparent thermal inertia with surface rock population is observed. These results indicate that significant ejecta distribution variability can exist below the resolution of orbital thermophysical remote sensing data. In addition to providing insights into how remote sensing data can improve field-based geologic mapping campaigns and impact crater analyses, our results place constraints on how the accuracy of geologic maps may be affected by surface erosion.