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Impact heat driven volatile redistribution at Occator crater on Ceres as a comparative planetary process
P Schenk1, J Scully2, D Buczkowski3
1Lunar and Planetary Institute/USRA, Houston, TX, USA. schenk@lpi.usra.edu.
Nature Communications
|August 12, 2020
Summary
Impact melts on Ceres
Area of Science:
- Planetary Science
- Astrobiology
- Geology
Background:
- Hydrothermal processes in impact craters on water-rich bodies like Mars and Earth are crucial for understanding the origins of life.
- Dwarf planet Ceres' Occator crater exhibits deposits potentially linked to these processes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the composition and features of impact melts within Ceres' Occator crater.
- To compare these features with those found on Mars and infer implications for volatile outgassing and brine migration.
Main Methods:
- Utilized high-resolution stereo imaging and topography data from the Dawn mission.
- Analyzed geological features such as pits, troughs, and bright mounds within Occator crater.
Main Results:
- Ceres' impact melts are widespread, solidified, water- and salt-rich, and mud-like.
- Features like endogenic pits, troughs, and bright mounds suggest volatile outgassing and periglacial-style activity during solidification.
- Bright salts at Vinalia Faculae are thin surficial precipitates from hydrothermal brine effusion.
- The ages of these salts are indistinguishable from floor materials, suggesting possible brine migration.
Conclusions:
- Ceres' impact melt features differ from Mars, indicating potentially less gas-rich melts or inhibited volatile release.
- Hydrothermal activity and brine effusion are evident in Occator crater, with potential for deep crustal brine sources.
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