New research conducted by Curtin University confirms that the frequency of asteroid collisions led to the creation of craters
“>Tuesday It has been constant over the past 600 million years.
New Curt University research confirms that the frequency of asteroid collisions that form craters on Mars has been constant over the past 600 million years.
Published study Messages from Earth and Planetary Sciences, analyzed the formation of more than 500 large Martian craters using Curtin’s previously developed groove detection algorithm, which automatically calculates impact pits visible from high-resolution images.
Although previous studies have suggested that the frequency of asteroid collisions may increase, Dr. Anthony Logan said his research has shown it hasn’t changed significantly over millions of years.
One of the 521 large holes dated in the study. The age at which this 40-kilometre crater formed is estimated using the number of small craters that have accumulated around it since the impact. A portion of these small pits are shown in the right panel, and they are all detected by the algorithm. In total, more than 1.2 million craters have been used to date Mars craters. Credit: Curtin University
The only way to accurately date geological events such as valleys, rivers, and volcanoes, and predict when and how large future large collisions will be, is to count the number of craters on the planet’s surface. Lagain said.
“On Earth, the erosion of tectonic plates is destroying the history of our planet.
“The groove detection algorithm gives us a complete understanding of the formation of impact craters, including their size, magnitude, time and frequency of asteroid impacts that caused them.”
Dr. Lakin said previous studies have indicated that the time and frequency of asteroid collisions increases due to debris production.
“When large objects collide with each other, they break into pieces or debris, which is thought to have an effect on the formation of the impact cavities,” Dr. Lagen said.
“Our study shows that it is unlikely that the debris made any difference to the formation of impact craters on planetary surfaces.”
Professor Gretchen Benedict, co-author and head of the team that developed the algorithm, said the algorithm could also be modified to work on other planetary surfaces, including the Moon.
“Thousands of craters can now be dated automatically, and the frequency of their formation is analyzed with high precision to examine their evolution,” Professor Benitex said.
“It will provide us with valuable information that may have practical applications in the future, such as excavating fossils in nature conservation, agriculture, and land use classification.”
Note: “Does the impact flow of small and large asteroids vary over time on Mars, Earth, and the Moon?” Anthony Lagen, Michael Kryslowski, David Paradox, Libo Liu, Hadrian Devilbuicks, Philip Plant, Gretchen K. Benedict, Luke S.; Dowset and Constantinople Service, 7 Jan 2022 Available Here Messages from Earth and Planetary Sciences.
DOI: 10.1016 / j.epsl.2021.117362