Geology topics

Christopher T. Russell

Publications and source records attributed to Christopher T. Russell.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2018

Floor-fractured craters on Ceres and implications for interior processes

Several of the impact craters on Ceres have sets of fractures on their floors. These fractures appear similar to those found within a class of lunar craters referred to as floor-fractured craters (FFCs). We have cataloged the Ceres FFCs according to the classification scheme designed for the Moon. An analysis of the depth to diameter ratio for Ceres craters shows that, like lunar FFCs, the Ceres FFCs are anomalously shallow. Large (>50 km) Ceres FFCs are most consistent with Class 1 lunar FFCs, while smaller craters on Ceres are more consistent with Class 4 lunar FFCs. This suggests that Ceres FFCs may similarly be undergoing fracturing due to the intrusion of a low-density material below the craters. While on the Moon (and Mars) the intrusive material is hypothesized to be silicate magma, cryomagmatic intrusions are more likely responsible for the formation of the Ceres FFCs. However, new models suggest that at least some of the FFC fractures may have formed due to the solid-state flow of a low-viscosity and low-density material into the crater wall.

Journal of Geophysical Research↗

USGS2018

Morphological indicators of a mascon beneath Ceres' largest crater, Kerwan

Gravity data of Ceres returned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Dawn spacecraft is consistent with a lower density crust of variable thickness overlying a higher density mantle. Crustal thickness variations can affect the long‐term, postimpact modification of impact craters on Ceres. Here we show that the unusual morphology of the 280 km diameter crater Kerwan may result from viscous relaxation in an outer layer that thins substantially beneath the crater floor. We propose that such a structure is consistent with either impact‐induced uplift of the high‐density mantle beneath the crater or from volatile loss during the impact event. In either case, the subsurface structure inferred from the crater morphology is superisostatic, and the mass excess would result in a positive Bouguer anomaly beneath the crater, consistent with the highest‐degree gravity data from Dawn. Ceres joins the Moon, Mars, and Mercury in having basin‐associated gravity anomalies, although their origin may differ substantially.

Geophysical Research Letters↗

USGS2017

Geomorphological evidence for ground ice on dwarf planet Ceres

Five decades of observations of Ceres suggest that the dwarf planet has a composition similar to carbonaceous meteorites and may have an ice-rich outer shell protected by a silicate layer. NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has detected ubiquitous clays, carbonates and other products of aqueous alteration across the surface of Ceres, but surprisingly it has directly observed water ice in only a few areas. Here we use Dawn Framing Camera observations to analyse lobate morphologies on Ceres’ surface and we infer the presence of ice in the upper few kilometres of Ceres. We identify three distinct lobate morphologies that we interpret as surface flows: thick tongue-shaped, furrowed flows on steep slopes; thin, spatulate flows on shallow slopes; and cuspate sheeted flows that appear fluidized. The shapes and aspect ratios of these flows are different from those of dry landslides—including those on ice-poor Vesta—but are morphologically similar to ice-rich flows on other bodies, indicating the involvement of ice. Based on the geomorphology and poleward increase in prevalence of these flows, we suggest that the shallow subsurface of Ceres is comprised of mixtures of silicates and ice, and that ice is most abundant near the poles.

Nature Geoscience↗

USGS2017

The interior structure of Ceres as revealed by surface topography

Ceres, the largest body in the asteroid belt (940 km diameter), provides a unique opportunity to study the interior structure of a volatile-rich dwarf planet. Variations in a planetary body's subsurface rheology and density affect the rate of topographic relaxation. Preferential attenuation of long wavelength topography (≥150 km) on Ceres suggests that the viscosity of its crust decreases with increasing depth. We present finite element (FE) geodynamical simulations of Ceres to identify the internal structures and compositions that best reproduce its topography as observed by the NASA Dawn mission. We infer that Ceres has a mechanically strong crust with maximum effective viscosity ∼10 25 Pa s. Combined with density constraints, this rheology suggests a crustal composition of carbonates or phyllosilicates, water ice, and at least 30 volume percent (vol.%) low-density, high-strength phases most consistent with salt and/or clathrate hydrates. The inference of these crustal materials supports the past existence of a global ocean, consistent with the observed surface composition. Meanwhile, we infer that the uppermost ≥60 km of the silicate-rich mantle is mechanically weak with viscosity <10 21 Pa s, suggesting the presence of liquid pore fluids in this region and a low temperature history that avoided igneous differentiation due to late accretion or efficient heat loss through hydrothermal processes.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗

USGS2016

Composition and structure of the shallow subsurface of Ceres revealed by crater morphology

Before NASA’s Dawn mission, the dwarf planet Ceres was widely believed to contain a substantial ice-rich layer below its rocky surface. The existence of such a layer has significant implications for Ceres’s formation, evolution, and astrobiological potential. Ceres is warmer than icy worlds in the outer Solar System and, if its shallow subsurface is ice-rich, large impact craters are expected to be erased by viscous flow on short geologic timescales. Here we use digital terrain models derived from Dawn Framing Camera images to show that most of Ceres’s largest craters are several kilometres deep, and are therefore inconsistent with the existence of an ice-rich subsurface. We further show from numerical simulations that the absence of viscous relaxation over billion-year timescales implies a subsurface viscosity that is at least one thousand times greater than that of pure water ice. We conclude that Ceres’s shallow subsurface is no more than 30% to 40% ice by volume, with a mixture of rock, salts and/or clathrates accounting for the other 60% to 70%. However, several anomalously shallow craters are consistent with limited viscous relaxation and may indicate spatial variations in subsurface ice content.

Nature Geoscience↗

USGS2013

Neutron absorption constraints on the composition of 4 Vesta

Global maps of the macroscopic thermal neutron absorption cross section of Vesta's regolith by the Gamma Ray and Neutron Detector (GRaND) on board the NASA Dawn spacecraft provide constraints on the abundance and distribution of Fe, Ca, Al, Mg, and other rock-forming elements. From a circular, polar low-altitude mapping orbit, GRaND sampled the regolith to decimeter depths with a spatial resolution of about 300 km. At this spatial scale, the variation in neutron absorption is about seven times lower than that of the Moon. The observed variation is consistent with the range of absorption for howardite whole-rock compositions, which further supports the connection between Vesta and the howardite, eucrite, and diogenite meteorites. We find a strong correlation between neutron absorption and the percentage of eucritic materials in howardites and polymict breccias, which enables petrologic mapping of Vesta's surface. The distribution of basaltic eucrite and diogenite determined from neutron absorption measurements is qualitatively similar to that indicated by visible and near infrared spectroscopy. The Rheasilvia basin and ejecta blanket has relatively low absorption, consistent with Mg-rich orthopyroxene. Based on a combination of Fe and neutron absorption measurements, olivine-rich lithologies are not detected on the spatial scales sampled by GRaND. The sensitivity of GRaND to the presence of mantle material is described and implications for the absence of an olivine signature are discussed. High absorption values found in Vesta's “dark” hemisphere, where exogenic hydrogen has accumulated, indicate that this region is richer in basaltic eucrite, representative of Vesta's ancient upper crust.

Meteoritics and Planetary Science↗

USGS2012

Elemental mapping by Dawn reveals exogenic H in Vesta's regolith

Using Dawn’s Gamma Ray and Neutron Detector, we tested models of Vesta’s evolution based on studies of howardite, eucrite, and diogenite (HED) meteorites. Global Fe/O and Fe/Si ratios are consistent with HED compositions. Neutron measurements confirm that a thick, diogenitic lower crust is exposed in the Rheasilvia basin, which is consistent with global magmatic differentiation. Vesta’s regolith contains substantial amounts of hydrogen. The highest hydrogen concentrations coincide with older, low-albedo regions near the equator, where water ice is unstable. The young, Rheasilvia basin contains the lowest concentrations. These observations are consistent with gradual accumulation of hydrogen by infall of carbonaceous chondrites—observed as clasts in some howardites—and subsequent removal or burial of this material by large impacts.

Science↗