Geology topics

C.T. Russell

Publications and source records attributed to C.T. Russell.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2017

Evidence for the interior evolution of Ceres from geologic analysis of fractures

Ceres is the largest asteroid belt object, and the Dawn spacecraft observed Ceres since 2015. Dawn observed two morphologically distinct linear features on Ceres's surface: secondary crater chains and pit chains. Pit chains provide unique insights into Ceres's interior evolution. We interpret pit chains called the Samhain Catenae as the surface expression of subsurface fractures. Using the pit chains' spacings, we estimate that the localized thickness of Ceres's fractured, outer layer is approximately ≥58 km, at least ~14 km greater than the global average. We hypothesize that extensional stresses, induced by a region of upwelling material arising from convection/diapirism, formed the Samhain Catenae. We derive characteristics for this upwelling material, which can be used as constraints in future interior modeling studies. For example, its predicted location coincides with Hanami Planum, a high-elevation region with a negative residual gravity anomaly, which may be surficial evidence for this proposed region of upwelling material.

Geophysical Research Letters↗

USGS2017

Pitted terrains on (1) Ceres and implications for shallow subsurface volatile distribution

Prior to the arrival of the Dawn spacecraft at Ceres, the dwarf planet was anticipated to be ice-rich. Searches for morphological features related to ice have been ongoing during Dawn's mission at Ceres. Here we report the identification of pitted terrains associated with fresh Cerean impact craters. The Cerean pitted terrains exhibit strong morphological similarities to pitted materials previously identified on Mars (where ice is implicated in pit development) and Vesta (where the presence of ice is debated). We employ numerical models to investigate the formation of pitted materials on Ceres and discuss the relative importance of water ice and other volatiles in pit development there. We conclude that water ice likely plays an important role in pit development on Ceres. Similar pitted terrains may be common in the asteroid belt and may be of interest to future missions motivated by both astrobiology and in situ resource utilization.

Geophysical Research Letters↗

USGS2016

The missing large impact craters on Ceres

Asteroids provide fundamental clues to the formation and evolution of planetesimals. Collisional models based on the depletion of the primordial main belt of asteroids predict 10–15 craters >400   km should have formed on Ceres, the largest object between Mars and Jupiter, over the last 4.55   Gyr. Likewise, an extrapolation from the asteroid Vesta would require at least 6–7 such basins. However, Ceres’ surface appears devoid of impact craters >~280   km. Here, we show a significant depletion of cerean craters down to 100–150   km in diameter. The overall scarcity of recognizable large craters is incompatible with collisional models, even in the case of a late implantation of Ceres in the main belt, a possibility raised by the presence of ammoniated phyllosilicates. Our results indicate that a significant population of large craters has been obliterated, implying that long-wavelength topography viscously relaxed or that Ceres experienced protracted widespread resurfacing.

Nature Communications↗

USGS2016

Cryovolcanism on Ceres

Volcanic edifices are abundant on rocky bodies of the inner solar system. In the cold outer solar system, volcanism can occur on solid bodies with a water-ice shell, but derived cryovolcanic constructs have proved elusive. We report the discovery using Dawn Framing Camera images of a landform on dwarf planet Ceres, which we argue represents a viscous cryovolcanic dome. Parent material of the cryomagma is a mixture of secondary minerals, including salts and water ice. Absolute model ages from impact craters reveal that extrusion of the dome has occurred recently. Ceres’ evolution must have been able to sustain recent interior activity and associated surface expressions. We propose salts with low eutectic temperatures and thermal conductivities as key drivers for Ceres’ long-term internal evolution.

Science↗

USGS2016

The geomorphology of Ceres

Analysis of Dawn spacecraft Framing Camera image data allows evaluation of the topography and geomorphology of features on the surface of Ceres. The dwarf planet is dominated by numerous craters, but other features are also common. Linear structures include both those associated with impact craters and those that do not appear to have any correlation to an impact event. Abundant lobate flows are identified, and numerous domical features are found at a range of scales. Features suggestive of near-surface ice, cryomagmatism, and cryovolcanism have been identified. Although spectroscopic analysis has currently detected surface water ice at only one location on Ceres, the identification of these potentially ice-related features suggests that there may be at least some ice in localized regions in the crust.

Science↗

USGS2016

Cratering on Ceres: Implications for its crust and evolution

Thermochemical models have predicted that Ceres, is to some extent, differentiated and should have an icy crust with few or no impact craters. We present observations by the Dawn spacecraft that reveal a heavily cratered surface, a heterogeneous crater distribution, and an apparent absence of large craters. The morphology of some impact craters is consistent with ice in the subsurface, which might have favored relaxation, yet large unrelaxed craters are also present. Numerous craters exhibit polygonal shapes, terraces, flowlike features, slumping, smooth deposits, and bright spots. Crater morphology and simple-to-complex crater transition diameters indicate that the crust of Ceres is neither purely icy nor rocky. By dating a smooth region associated with the Kerwan crater, we determined absolute model ages (AMAs) of 550 million and 720 million years, depending on the applied chronology model.

Science↗

USGS2014

Vesta surface thermal properties map

The first ever regional thermal properties map of Vesta has been derived from the temperatures retrieved by infrared data by the mission Dawn. The low average value of thermal inertia, 30 ± 10 J m −2   s −0.5  K −1 , indicates a surface covered by a fine regolith. A range of thermal inertia values suggesting terrains with different physical properties has been determined. The lower thermal inertia of the regions north of the equator suggests that they are covered by an older, more processed surface. A few specific areas have higher than average thermal inertia values, indicative of a more compact material. The highest thermal inertia value has been determined on the Marcia crater, known for its pitted terrain and the presence of hydroxyl in the ejecta. Our results suggest that this type of terrain can be the result of soil compaction following the degassing of a local subsurface reservoir of volatiles.

Geophysical Research Letters↗

USGS2014

Thermal measurements of dark and bright surface features on Vesta as derived from Dawn/VIR

Remote sensing data acquired during Dawn’s orbital mission at Vesta showed several local concentrations of high-albedo (bright) and low-albedo (dark) material units, in addition to spectrally distinct meteorite impact ejecta. The thermal behavior of such areas seen at local scale (1-10 km) is related to physical properties that can provide information about the origin of those materials. We use Dawn’s Visible and InfraRed (VIR) mapping spectrometer hyperspectral data to retrieve surface temperatures and emissivities, with high accuracy as long as temperatures are greater than 220 K. Some of the dark and bright features were observed multiple times by VIR in the various mission phases at variable spatial resolution, illumination and observation angles, local solar time, and heliocentric distance. This work presents the first temperature maps and spectral emissivities of several kilometer-scale dark and bright material units on Vesta. Results retrieved from the infrared data acquired by VIR show that bright regions generally correspond to regions with lower temperature, while dark regions correspond to areas with higher temperature. During maximum daily insolation and in the range of heliocentric distances explored by Dawn, i.e. 2.23-2.54 AU, the warmest dark unit found on Vesta rises to a temperature of 273 K, while bright units observed under comparable conditions do not exceed 266 K. Similarly, dark units appear to have higher emissivity on average compared to bright units. Dark-material units show a weak anticorrelation between temperature and albedo, whereas the relation is stronger for bright material units observed under the same conditions. Individual features may show either evanescent or distinct margins in the thermal images, as a consequence of the cohesion of the surface material. Finally, for the two categories of dark and bright materials, we were able to highlight the influence of heliocentric distance on surface temperatures, and estimate an average temperature rate change of 1% following a variation of 0.04 AU in the solar distance.

Icarus↗

USGS2012

Dawn at Vesta: testing the protoplanetary paradigm

The Dawn spacecraft targeted 4 Vesta, believed to be a remnant intact protoplanet from the earliest epoch of solar system formation, based on analyses of howardite-eucrite-diogenite (HED) meteorites that indicate a differentiated parent body. Dawn observations reveal a giant basin at Vesta's south pole, whose excavation was sufficient to produce Vesta-family asteroids (Vestoids) and HED meteorites. The spatially resolved mineralogy of the surface reflects the composition of the HED meteorites, confirming the formation of Vesta's crust by melting of a chondritic parent body. Vesta's mass, volume, and gravitational field are consistent with a core having an average radius of 107 to 113 kilometers, indicating sufficient internal melting to segregate iron. Dawn's results confirm predictions that Vesta differentiated and support its identification as the parent body of the HEDs.

Science↗

USGS1979

Lunar magnetic anomalies detected by the Apollo substatellite magnetometers

Properties of lunar crustal magnetization thus far deduced from Apollo subsatellite magnetometer data are reviewed using two of the most accurate presently available magnetic anomaly maps - one covering a portion of the lunar near side and the other a part of the far side. The largest single anomaly found within the region of coverage on the near-side map correlates exactly with a conspicuous, light-colored marking in western Oceanus Procellarum called Reiner Gamma. This feature is interpreted as an unusual deposit of ejecta from secondary craters of the large nearby primary impact crater Cavalerius. An age for Cavalerius (and, by implication, for Reiner Gamma) of 3.2 ?? 0.2 ?? 109 y is estimated. The main (30 ?? 60 km) Reiner Gamma deposit is nearly uniformly magnetized in a single direction, with a minimum mean magnetization intensity of ???7 ?? 10-2 G cm3/g (assuming a density of 3 g/cm3), or about 700 times the stable magnetization component of the most magnetic returned samples. Additional medium-amplitude anomalies exist over the Fra Mauro Formation (Imbrium basin ejecta emplaced ???3.9 ?? 109 y ago) where it has not been flooded by mare basalt flows, but are nearly absent over the maria and over the craters Copernicus, Kepler, and Reiner and their encircling ejecta mantles. The mean altitude of the far-side anomaly gap is much higher than that of the near-side map and the surface geology is more complex, so individual anomaly sources have not yet been identified. However, it is clear that a concentration of especially strong sources exists in the vicinity of the craters Van de Graaff and Aitken. Numerical modeling of the associated fields reveals that the source locations do not correspond with the larger primary impact craters of the region and, by analogy with Reiner Gamma, may be less conspicuous secondary crater ejecta deposits. The reason for a special concentration of strong sources in the Van de Graaff-Aitken region is unknown, but may be indirectly related to the existence of strongly modified crustal terrain which also occurs in the same region. The inferred directions of magnetization for the several sources of the largest anomalies are highly inclined with respect to one another, but are generally depleted in the north-south direction. The north-south depletion of magnetization intensity appears to continue across the far-side within the region of coverage. The mechanism of magnetization and the origin of the magnetizing field remain unresolved, but the uniformity with which the Reiner Gamma deposit is apparently magnetized, and the north-south depletion of magnetization intensity across a substantial portion of the far side, seem to require the existence of an ambient field, perhaps of global or larger extent. The very different inferred directions of magnetization possessed by nearly adjacent sources of the Van de Graaff-Aitken anomalies, and the depletion in their north-south component of magnetization, do not favor an internally generated dipolar field oriented parallel to the present spin axis. A variably oriented interplanetary magnetizing field that was intrinsically strong or locally amplified by unknown surface processes is least inconsistent with the data. ?? 1979.

Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors↗

USGS1977

10. The surface and interior of venus

Present ideas about the surface and interior of Venus are based on data obtained from (1) Earth-based radio and radar: temperature, rotation, shape, and topography; (2) fly-by and orbiting spacecraft: gravity and magnetic fields; and (3) landers: winds, local structure, gamma radiation. Surface features, including large basins, crater-like depressions, and a linear valley, have been recognized from recent ground-based radar images. Pictures of the surface acquired by the USSR's Venera 9 and 10 show abundant boulders and apparent wind erosion. On the Pioneer Venus 1978 Orbiter mission, the radar mapper experiment will determine surface heights, dielectric constant values and small-scale slope values along the sub-orbital track between 50??S and 75??N. This experiment will also estimate the global shape and provide coarse radar images (40-80 km identification resolution) of part of the surface. Gravity data will be obtained by radio tracking. Maps combining radar altimetry with spacecraft and ground-based images will be made. A fluxgate magnetometer will measure the magnetic fields around Venus. The radar and gravity data will provide clues to the level of crustal differentiation and tectonic activity. The magnetometer will determine the field variations accurately. Data from the combined experiments may constrain the dynamo mechanism; if so, a deeper understanding of both Venus and Earth will be gained. ?? 1977 D. Reidel Publishing Company.

Space Science Reviews↗