Differential degradation of Martian impact basins

Among the major problems of martian geologic history are the cause of the highland-lowland dichotomy, and of the scarp separating these two global-scale provinces. These features were formed after much of the early bombardment was completed; consequently, many of the surviving impact basins very likely were present during the creation of the dichotomy, and it is possible that differences in their present morphologies as a function of location and of relative age may provide clues to the tectonic and geomorphic processes responsible for the dichotomy and the scarp.