Ancient lowlands on Mars

被引：186

作者：

Frey, HV

Roark, JH

Shockey, KM

Frey, EL

Sakimoto, SEH

机构：

[1] NASA, Goddard Space Flight Ctr, Geodynam Branch, Sci Syst & Applicat Inc, Greenbelt, MD 20771 USA

[2] NASA, Goddard Space Flight Ctr, SSA Geodynam Branch, Greenbelt, MD 20771 USA

[3] S River High Sch, Edgewater, MD 21037 USA

[4] Univ Maryland Baltimore Cty, Goddard Space Flight Ctr, Geodynam Branch, GEST, Greenbelt, MD 20771 USA

来源：

GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS | 2002年 / 29卷 / 10期

关键词：

D O I：

10.1029/2001GL013832

中图分类号：

P [天文学、地球科学];

学科分类号：

07 ;

摘要：

[1] Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data provide compelling evidence that the martian lowlands, below the smooth and sparsely cratered northern plains, are extremely old, far older than the plains which cover them. The evidence is in the form of a very large population of "Quasi-Circular Depressions'' (QCDs), many of which are very evident in the MOLA elevation data but generally not visible in available imagery. We interpret these "invisible'' QCDs to be buried impact basins. Cumulative number versus diameter curves for lowland QCDs suggests the buried lowland surface is older than the visible highland surface and that the lowland plains are a relatively thin (1-2 km) veneer overlying this much older surface. We conclude that the martian lowlands have been low and stable for nearly all of martian history.

引用

页码：22 / 1

页数：4