NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
How Old are Lunar Lobate Scarps? 1. Seismic Resetting of Crater Size-Frequency DistributionsPrevious studies have estimated the ages of lunar lobate scarps, some of the youngest tectonic landforms on the Moon, based on the estimated life-times of their fresh morphologies and associated small graben, using crater degradation ages, or via buffered and traditional crater size-frequency distribution (CSFD) measurements. Here, we reexamine five scarps previously dated by Binder and Gunga (1985) with crater degradation ages to benchmark the evaluation of both the buffered and traditional CSFD approaches for determination of absolute model ages (AMAs) at scarps. Both CSFD methods yield similar ages for each individual scarp, indicating that fault activity not only can be measured on the scarp itself, but also in the surrounding terrain - an indication that tectonic activity causes surface renewal both adjacent to and even kilometers distant from scarps. Size-frequency variations in the regions surrounding the scarps are thus useful for studying the extent and severity of the ground motion caused by coseismic slip events during scarp formation. All age determination approaches continue to indicate that lunar lobate scarps were active in the late Copernican, with some scarps possibly experiencing activity within the last 100 Ma.
Document ID
20180002218
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Van Der Bogert, Carolyn H.
(Westfaelische Wilhelms Univ. Muenster, Germany)
Clark, Jaclyn D.
(Westfaelische Wilhelms Univ. Muenster, Germany)
Hiesinger, Harald
(Westfaelische Wilhelms Univ. Muenster, Germany)
Banks, Maria E.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Watters, Thomas R.
(Smithsonian Institution Washington, DC, United States)
Robinson, Mark S.
(Arizona State Univ. Tempe, AZ, United States)
Date Acquired
April 10, 2018
Publication Date
February 2, 2018
Publication Information
Publication: Icarus
Publisher: Elsevier
Volume: 306
ISSN: 0019-1035
e-ISSN: 1090-2643
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN54017
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX08AM73G
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
Lunar Lobate Scarps
Tectonic
Morphologies

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available