New craters on Mars: an updated catalog
File(s)
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
We present a catalog of new impacts on Mars. These craters formed in the last few decades, constrained with repeat orbital imaging. Crater diameters range from 58 m down to <1 m. For each impact, we report whether it formed a single crater or a cluster (58% clusters); albedo features of the blast zone (88% halos; 64% linear rays; 10% arcuate rays; majority dark-toned; 4% light-toned; 14% dual-toned); and exposures of ice (4% definite; 2% possible). We find no trends in the occurrences of clusters with latitude, elevation, or impact size. Albedo features do not depend on atmospheric fragmentation. Halos are more prevalent at lower elevations, indicating an atmospheric pressure dependence; and around smaller impacts, which could be an observational bias. Linear rays are more likely to form from larger impacts into more consolidated material and may be enhanced by lower atmospheric pressure at higher elevations. Light- and dual-toned blast zones occur in specific regions and more commonly around larger impacts, indicating excavation of compositionally distinct material. Surfaces covered with bright dust lacking cohesion are favored to form detectable surface features. The slope of the cumulative size frequency distribution for this dataset is 2.2 for diameters >8 m (differential slope 2.9), significantly shallower than the slope of new lunar craters. We believe that no systematic biases exist in the martian dataset sufficient to explain the discrepancy. This catalog is complete at the time of writing, although observational biases exist, and new discoveries continue.
Date Issued
2022-07
Date Acceptance
2022-06-08
Citation
Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 2022, 127 (7), pp.1-21
ISSN
2169-9097
Publisher
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Start Page
1
End Page
21
Journal / Book Title
Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets
Volume
127
Issue
7
Copyright Statement
This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Identifier
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021JE007145
Subjects
Science & Technology
Physical Sciences
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Mars
impact craters
METEORITE IMPACTS
THERMAL INERTIA
SYSTEM
FLUX
0201 Astronomical and Space Sciences
0402 Geochemistry
0403 Geology
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2022-06-10