Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
8137570 | Icarus | 2014 | 25 Pages |
Abstract
A variety of geologic landforms and features are observed within quadrangle Av-13 Tuccia in the southern hemisphere of Vesta. The quadrangle covers parts of the highland Vestalia Terra as well as the floors of the large Rheasilvia and Veneneia impact basins, which results in a substantial elevation difference of more than 40Â km between the northern and the southern portions of the quadrangle. Measurements of crater size-frequency distributions within and surrounding the Rheasilvia basin indicate that gravity-driven mass wasting in the interior of the basin has been important, and that the basin has a more ancient formation age than would be expected from the crater density on the basin floor alone. Subsequent to its formation, Rheasilvia was superimposed by several mid-sized impact craters. The most prominent craters are Tuccia, Eusebia, Vibidia, Galeria, and Antonia, whose geology and formation ages are investigated in detail in this work. These impact structures provide a variety of morphologies indicating different sorts of subsequent impact-related or gravity-driven mass wasting processes. Understanding the geologic history of the relatively young craters in the Rheasilvia basin is important in order to understand the even more degraded craters in other regions of Vesta.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Space and Planetary Science
Authors
T. Kneissl, N. Schmedemann, V. Reddy, D.A. Williams, S.H.G. Walter, A. Neesemann, G.G. Michael, R. Jaumann, K. Krohn, F. Preusker, T. Roatsch, L. Le Corre, A. Nathues, M. Hoffmann, M. Schäfer, D. Buczkowski, W.B. Garry, R.A. Yingst, C.A. Raymond,