Dating very young planetary surfaces from crater statistics: A review of issues and challenges

Determining the ages of young planetary surfaces relies on using populations of small, often sub‐km diameter impact craters due to the higher frequency at which they form. Smaller craters however can be less reliable for estimating ages as their size‐frequency distribution is more susceptible to alt...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inMeteoritics & planetary science Vol. 53; no. 4; pp. 554 - 582
Main Authors Williams, Jean‐Pierre, Bogert, Carolyn H., Pathare, Asmin V., Michael, Gregory G., Kirchoff, Michelle R., Hiesinger, Harald
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.04.2018
Subjects
Chronology
Confidence
Dating
Dating techniques
Frequency distribution
Geology
Image acquisition
Lunar craters
Mars craters
Planetary surfaces
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Determining the ages of young planetary surfaces relies on using populations of small, often sub‐km diameter impact craters due to the higher frequency at which they form. Smaller craters however can be less reliable for estimating ages as their size‐frequency distribution is more susceptible to alteration with debate as to whether they should be used at all. With the current plethora of meter‐scale resolution images acquired of the lunar and Martian surfaces, small craters have been widely used to derive model ages to establish the temporal relation of recent geologic events. In this review paper, we discuss the many factors that make smaller craters particularly challenging to use and should be taken into consideration when crater counts are confined to small crater diameters. Establishing confidence in a model age ultimately requires an understanding of the geologic context of the surface being dated as reliability can vary considerably and limitations of the dating technique should be considered in applying ages to any geologic interpretation.
ISSN:1086-9379
1945-5100
DOI:10.1111/maps.12924