Morphology and Morphometry of Double Layered Ejecta Craters on Mars
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Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository August 2015 Morphology and Morphometry of Double Layered Ejecta Craters on Mars Ryan Schwegman The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Dr. Gordon Osinski The University of Western Ontario Joint Supervisor Dr. Livio Tornabene The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Geology A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Master of Science © Ryan Schwegman 2015 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Geology Commons Recommended Citation Schwegman, Ryan, "Morphology and Morphometry of Double Layered Ejecta Craters on Mars" (2015). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 3074. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/3074 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. MORPHOLOGY AND MORPHOMETRY OF DOUBLE LAYERED EJECTA CRATERS ON MARS (Thesis format: Integrated Article) by Ryan Schwegman Graduate Program in Geology: Planetary Science A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Ryan Schwegman 2015 Abstract Double layered ejecta (DLE) craters display two distinct layers of ejecta that appear to have been emplaced as a mobile, ground-hugging flow. While volatile content within the target, atmosphere, or some combination of the two is generally considered a major variable enhancing the mobility of ejecta, the presence of unconsolidated surface materials may also have some effect. This statement is studied further here, aiming to determine whether bulk target lithology and/or attributes of the surface have any effect on morphometric properties between DLEs situated on sedimentary targets to those on volcanic ones. Results suggest that ejecta mobility (the distance ejecta travels from the crater rim) generally increases with increasing latitude and may reflect volatile concentrations on Mars, while lobateness (sinuosity of the perimeter of ejecta) generally decreases with increasing latitude. Furthermore, DLEs on sedimentary targets appear to have a higher EM, on average, than those on volcanic targets. Keywords Mars; impact processes; cratering; layered ejecta; Mars, surface processes ii Co-Authorship Statement Chapter 2 is an article currently in review for publication titled “A comparative morphologic and morphometric study of double layered ejecta craters in volcanic terrains on Mars”. Co- authors are Dr. G. R. Osinski, Dr. L. L. Tornabene, Dr. E. Jones, and T. N. Harrison (Western University, London, ON). All data was collected by R. Schwegman. Dr. G. R. Osinski and Dr. L. L. Tornabene contributed to interpretations and structure of the overall article, as well as editorial suggestions. iii Acknowledgments I cannot thank anyone else before I thank Oz and Livio who have both been incredibly helpful and supportive throughout this whole process and I could not have asked for better supervisors. Also to Eriita who introduced me to Martian layered ejecta and helped me get started on this project. Thank you to Bianca and Patrick for all their help with ArcGIS, my fellow American Zach, my office buddies Kathy, Becca, Roshni, Laura, Alex, and (British) Jon, and to (Canadian) Ryan. You all have been really awesome friends and I couldn’t imagine what these past two years would have been like without you. Thanks also to Eric, Hun, Kayle, Tanya, Mary, and the rest of the former and current Ozlings who have helped me along the way. I would also like to thank Mary Bourke as if it weren’t for her introducing me to Oz, I would have never gotten this incredible opportunity to study in Canada. Thank you also to Jeffrey Byrnes and all the other undergraduate instructors at Oklahoma State University that provided me an education in geological sciences. I would most definitely not be where I am without their expertise. I cannot forget my family for their unending support; Mom, Dad, Melissa, Debbie, Nick, and Bob, none of this would have been possible without you. Thank you to my examiners Catherine Neish, Richard Grieve, and Ken McIsaac for their helpful and constructive comments. And lastly, thank you Canada for letting me study in your great country. iv Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Co-Authorship Statement................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iv Table of Contents ................................................................................................................ v List of Tables ................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures .................................................................................................................... ix List of Appendices .......................................................................................................... xvii Chapter 1 ............................................................................................................................. 1 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Mars ........................................................................................................................ 2 1.2 Global Structure ...................................................................................................... 4 1.3 Geologic History ..................................................................................................... 6 1.3.1 Noachian Period .......................................................................................... 7 1.3.2 Hesperian Period ......................................................................................... 8 1.3.3 Amazonian Period ....................................................................................... 8 1.4 Cratering Rates and the Cratering Record on Mars ................................................ 9 1.5 The Impact Cratering Process ............................................................................... 10 1.5.1 Contact and Compression ......................................................................... 11 1.5.2 Excavation................................................................................................. 12 1.5.3 Modification .............................................................................................. 13 1.6 Ejecta Morphologies on Mars ............................................................................... 15 1.6.1 Radial Ejecta ............................................................................................. 15 1.6.2 Layered Ejecta Morphologies ................................................................... 17 1.7 Double Layered Ejecta Emplacement Models ...................................................... 23 v 1.7.1 Schultz and Gault (1979) and Schultz (1992) Atmospheric Model .......... 23 1.7.2 Mouginis-Mark (1981) and Boyce and Mouginis-Mark (2006) Model ... 24 1.7.3 Komatsu et al. (2007) Model .................................................................... 26 1.7.4 Osinski et al. (2011) Model ...................................................................... 28 1.7.5 Weiss and Head (2013) Glacial Substrate Model ..................................... 30 1.7.6 Wulf and Kenkmann (2015) Model .......................................................... 31 1.8 References ............................................................................................................. 32 Chapter 2 ........................................................................................................................... 43 2 A Comparative Morphologic and Morphometric Study of Double Layered Ejecta Craters in Volcanic Terrains on Mars .......................................................................... 43 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 43 2.2 Methodology ......................................................................................................... 46 2.2.1 Study Areas ............................................................................................... 48 2.3 Results ................................................................................................................... 52 2.3.1 Ejecta Mobility (EM) ................................................................................ 52 2.3.2 Lobateness (Γ) ........................................................................................... 57 2.3.3 Other Morphologic and Morphometric Attributes .................................... 61 2.4 Discussion ............................................................................................................. 69 2.4.1 Effect of the Target Properties on Ejecta Mobility ................................... 69 2.4.2 Effect of the