Landscape evolution of planetary surfaces: Comparative analysis of impact craters in the solar system

行星表面景观演化：太阳系撞击坑的比较分析

• 批准号: RGPIN-2015-04295
• 负责人: Neish, Catherine
• 金额: $ 1.97万
• 依托单位: University of Western Ontario
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2019-01-01 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=681884
• 关键词: Landscape; evolution; planetary; surfaces; Comparative

The long-term objective of my research program is to understand how planetary surfaces evolve over time, and characterize the processes working to shape these landscapes. To achieve these goals, I will study the morphology and distribution of impact craters on the surface of planets and satellites in the solar system. Impact cratering is a ubiquitous process in the solar system, with most planets and moons retaining thousands of scars from past impacts. By comparing fresh craters on airless worlds to their more degraded counterparts on planets with atmospheres, we can quantify the amount of modification that has occurred and constrain the processes that affect the evolution of planetary surfaces.***This research program aims to determine how craters evolve over time on different worlds in the solar system. This will be accomplished through three main objectives:***1. Characterize fresh impact craters on terrestrial planets: Impact craters on the Moon and Venus provide relatively pristine analogues for craters observed on the Earth. One feature that is commonly observed around young, fresh craters is flow-like deposits of impact melt. We will use publicly available data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and the Magellan mission to explore several hypotheses regarding the origin and emplacement of melt flows around impact craters on terrestrial planets. ***2. Compare impact crater morphology on terrestrial planets: Using data obtained in Objective 1, we will investigate the role that erosion has played in shaping the Earth's impact craters. We will compare the topographic profiles of craters on Earth to craters on other terrestrial planets, and use publicly available landscape evolution models to constrain the type of erosion responsible for their modification.***3. Constrain the processes modifying impact craters on Titan: Like the Earth, Saturn's moon Titan has a dearth of recognizable impact craters on its surface. We will analyze data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft to understand the processes that effect crater degradation on Titan. We will extract spectra of Titan's craters, and compare them to the compositions expected from different degradation mechanisms. ***By carrying out the proposed objectives, we will obtain valuable data that can be used to identify the processes working to modify craters over time, critical for understanding the landscape evolution of the Earth and other planets. This research program will provide opportunities for training Highly Qualified Personnel at the postgraduate and undergraduate levels, preparing them for careers in the field of remote sensing, a high priority area for Canadian industry and government.**

我的研究计划的长期目标是了解行星表面如何随着时间的推移而演变，并描述塑造这些景观的过程。为了实现这些目标，我将研究太阳系行星和卫星表面撞击坑的形态和分布。撞击陨石坑在太阳系中是一个普遍存在的过程，大多数行星和卫星都保留着过去撞击留下的数千道伤疤。通过将没有空气的星球上的新陨石坑与有大气的行星上退化程度更高的陨石坑进行比较，我们可以量化已经发生的修改的数量，并限制影响行星表面演化的过程。*这个研究计划旨在确定太阳系不同星球上的陨石坑是如何随着时间的推移而演变的。这将通过三个主要目标来实现：*1.确定类地行星上新的撞击坑的特征：月球和金星上的撞击坑为在地球上观察到的陨石坑提供了相对原始的类似物。在年轻、新鲜的陨石坑周围经常观察到的一个特征是撞击熔体的流动沉积。我们将使用美国宇航局月球勘测轨道器(LRO)和麦哲伦任务的公开数据来探索几个关于类地行星撞击坑周围熔体流动的起源和侵位的假说。*2.比较类地行星上的撞击坑形态：利用目标1中获得的数据，我们将调查侵蚀在形成地球撞击坑中所起的作用。我们将比较地球上陨石坑的地形轮廓与其他类地行星上的陨石坑，并使用公开可用的地貌演变模型来限制导致它们变化的侵蚀类型。*3.限制泰坦上撞击坑的修改过程：与地球一样，土星的卫星土卫六表面也缺乏可识别的撞击坑。我们将分析来自NASA卡西尼号航天器的数据，以了解影响土卫六陨石坑退化的过程。我们将提取泰坦陨石坑的光谱，并将它们与不同降解机制预期的成分进行比较。*通过执行拟议的目标，我们将获得宝贵的数据，这些数据可以用来确定随着时间的推移修改陨石坑的过程，这对了解地球和其他行星的景观演变至关重要。这项研究计划将为培养研究生和本科水平的高素质人才提供机会，为他们在遥感领域的职业生涯做好准备，这是加拿大工业和政府的一个高度优先领域。**