An atmospheric blast/thermal model for the formation of high-latitude pedestal craters
Citation
Wrobel, K., Schultz, P., & Crawford, D. (2006). An atmospheric blast/thermal model for the formation of high‐latitude pedestal craters. Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 41(10), 1539-1550.Publisher
The Meteoritical SocietyJournal
Meteoritics & Planetary ScienceDescription
From the proceedings of the Workshop on the Role of Volatiles and Atmospheres on Martian Impact Craters held on July 11-14, 2005, at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.Additional Links
https://meteoritical.org/Abstract
Although tenuous, the atmosphere of Mars affects the evolution of impact-generated vapor. Early-time vapor from a vertical impact expands symmetrically, directly transferring a small percentage of the initial kinetic energy of impact to the atmosphere. This energy, in turn, induces a hemispherical shock wave that propagates outward as an intense airblast (due to high-speed expansion of vapor) followed by a thermal pulse of extreme atmospheric temperatures (from thermal energy of expansion). This study models the atmospheric response to such early-time energy coupling using the CTH hydrocode written at Sandia National Laboratories. Results show that the surface surrounding a 10 km diameter crater (6 km "apparent" diameter) on Mars will be subjected to intense winds (~200 m/s) and extreme atmospheric temperatures. These elevated temperatures are sufficient to melt subsurface volatiles at a depth of several centimeters for an ice-rich substrate. Ensuing surface signatures extend to distal locations (~4 apparent crater diameters for a case of 0.1% energy coupling) and include striations, thermally armored surfaces, and/or ejecta pedestals--all of which are exhibited surrounding the freshest high-latitude craters on Mars. The combined effects of the atmospheric blast and thermal pulse, resulting in the generation of a crater-centered erosion-resistant armored surface, thus provide a new, very plausible formation model for high-latitude Martian pedestal craters.Type
Proceedingstext
Language
enISSN
1945-5100ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1111/j.1945-5100.2006.tb00434.x