Geologic map of Apollo landing sites 4 and 4R part of Wichmann CA region, Oceanus Procellarum
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Geology topics
Publications and source records attributed to P. J. Cannon.
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Th e Sabin EB region is a rolling plain which consists entirely of crater and mare materials. The areal density of craters, th ough variable within the region, is sufficiently high so that the craters are the dominant morphological feature. Crater morphology ranges from bright , s harp - rimmed craters to pan-shaped depressions. Superposition relations indicate that the bright-rimmed craters (unit br ) are youngest and that such craters are degraded in time to sha llow, subdued depressions (unit sr ) and presumably to total destruction . It appears that the bright rim deposits , characteristics of the youngest craters, darken with time until their albedo is the same as that of the surrounding material (as in the unit dr ) . Degradation of crater rims probably is caused by superposed crater rims probably is caused by superposed impacts, burial by ejecta from more distant younger craters, and downslope movement of surficial materials. A few craters (unit d) have complex -upward walls which appear to have formed by inward slumping late in the degradation process.
Thermal-infrared images obtained on flights over the Tishomingo anticline and South Flank areas near Mill Creek in the Arbuckle Mountains, Oklahoma, were used to study the possibility of identifying some common rock types from their diagnostic reflection and emission characteristics, and to evaluate the usefulness of infrared images in structural geologic investigations. The areas flown are underlain by folded and faulted Paleozoic dolomite, limestone, sandstone, shale, and Precambrian granite. Images were obtained at 6:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 2:00 p.m. The predawn (6:00 a.m.) image is the most useful in distinguishing rock types. Of particular interest is a thermal contrast of dolomite (warm) and limestone (cool), sufficient to distinguish those rock types and to reveal facies changes between them. Theoretical considerations indicate that this thermal contrast arises from a combination of albedo and thermal-inertia characteristics distinctive of dolomites and limestones in many areas. The daytime images display much stratigraphic and structural detail. Small-scale bedding detail is enhanced in the morning images of low-relief areas, and contrasts of alternating formations that form hogbacks and valleys are enhanced in the afternoon images of higher relief areas. The difference in features displayed in morning and afternoon images appears to be a function of the insolation on sunward and shadowed slopes of differing scale. Fault or fracture zones are best displayed in the predawn image; they appear cooler than surrounding ground, because of greater water content and concomitant evaporation. The abundance and throughgoing nature of lineaments (which coincide for the most part with joint systems) are more obvious in the infrared images than in aerial photographs. Lineaments striking northwest are preferentially enhanced in the morning images, and lineaments striking northeast are preferentially shown in the afternoon images. This enhancement cannot be ascribed to the effects of topography, insolation, or wind; it may relate to a combination of ground-water and vegetation effects.
Field Sites have been selected for controlled experiments to analyze physical and chemical parameters affecting the response of electromagnetic radiation to geological materials. Considerations in the selection of the sites are the availability of good exposures of nearly monomineralic rocks, level of geologic understanding, and ease of access. Seven sites, where work is underway or planned, contain extensive outcrops of the following rocks: stanstone, limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. Field measurement of quartz have been conducted at four sites.
As part of the U.S. Geological Survey's Remote Sensor Application Studies program, infrared images and several kinds of photographs were obtained on reconnaissance flights over two areas in the Arbuckle Mountains near Mill Creek, Oklahoma. These data were used in a preliminary investigation (1) to determine the diagnostic reflection and emission characteristics of various rock types, and (2) io evaluate the perturbing influence of atmospheric conditions, surface coatings, rock texture, and topography on the observed reflected and emitted energy in the thermal infrared (8-14μ) part of the spectrum