Analysis of depth-diameter relationship of craters around oceanus procellarum area

Abstract

Studying the depth-diameter relationship of impact craters around the Oceanus Procellarum area together with values for simple crater, complex crater and basin confirms two inflections in the depth/diameter (d/D) curve. We classify impact craters to three types, which are simple crater, complex crater and basin. Using the most ‘pristine’ or deepest craters in the data, three kinds of depth-diameter relationships are determined: the linear fit for simple crater is d=0.126D+0.490 2; the best empirical power fit for complex crater is d=0.327 3D ^{0.625 2}; the best empirical power fit for basin is d=0.300 4D ^{0.463 3}, where d is the depth of the crater and D is the diameter of the crater, both in kilometers. The depth-diameter relationship for basin is characterized by a lower slope than that for complex craters, demonstrating that this morphologic transition corresponds to a further decrease in the depth of an impact structure relative to its diameter with increasing size. These relationships can then be used to estimate the theoretical depth of any impact radius, and therefore can be used to estimate the pristine shape of the crater around the Oceanus Procellarum area. The study of Oceanus Procellarum will help humankind to learn more about the origin and evolution of the moon.

Keywords

Oceanus Procellarum / depth-diameter relationship / power fit / linear fit / inflection

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