Kaiser (crater)

Kaiser

Kaiser Crater (large crater in upper part of image)context for THEMIS image.
Planet Mars
Coordinates 46°36′S 340°54′W / 46.6°S 340.9°W / -46.6; -340.9Coordinates: 46°36′S 340°54′W / 46.6°S 340.9°W / -46.6; -340.9
Eponym Frederik Kaiser

Kaiser Crater is a crater in the Noachis quadrangle of Mars, located at 46.6° S and 340.9° W. It is 207 km wide and was named after Frederik Kaiser, a Dutch astronomer (1808–1872).[1] Debris flows have been observed on some of the dunes in this crater. Some researchers believe that they may be caused by liquid water. Liquid water could be stable for short periods of time in the summer in the southern hemisphere of Mars. These gully-like debris flows may be due to small amounts of ice melting.[2]

Importance

The density of impact craters is used to determine the surface ages of Mars and other solar system bodies.[3] The older the surface, the more craters present. Crater shapes can reveal the presence of ground ice.

The area around craters may be rich in minerals. On Mars, heat from the impact melts ice in the ground. Water from the melting ice dissolves minerals, and then deposits them in cracks or faults that were produced with the impact. This process, called hydrothermal alteration, is a major way in which ore deposits are produced. The area around Martian craters may be rich in useful ores for the future colonization of Mars.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Kaiser (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. ↑ Reiss, D, R. Jaumann. 2003. Recent debris flows on Mars: Seasonal observations of the Russell Crater dune field. Geophysical Research Letters: 30, 1321.
  3. ↑ http://www.lpi.usra.edu/publications/slidesets/stones/
  4. ↑ http://www.indiana.edu/~sierra/papers/2003/Patterson.html.


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