CRATERING METEORITE OF BAISHA CRATER,HAINAN ISLAND,CHINA

Studies on the aerolite fragments from Baisha crater, Hainan Island prove that they belong to calcium-rich achondrite which are relicts of cratering meteorite of the Baisha crater.These flat-ball shaped aerolite fragments, size being 21cm×18.5cm×8.7cm, were found in a creek within the Baisha crater. This hard aerolite weigh 3.75 kg with a density of 3.46g/cm3. It is mantled by a 0.1-0.5cm thick ,brown shell and its fresh section is dark-grey. The aerolite is characterized by porphyritic texture and no spherulitic texture has been found. Microscopic examination, X-ray diffraction analysis and electronic probe

The Origins of the Arc-Shaped Langshan Uplift and Linhe Trench

In the northern part of the Ordos Basin, there is a 325 km long arc-shaped Langshan uplift and a 15 km-deep Linhe Trench in front of Langshan, which are rare geological phenomena for which origins no one has explained. This article comprehensively analyzes the research achievements over the past 40 years of geology, geomorphology, seismic exploration, paleogeography, and oil and gas exploration in the Ordos Basin and Langshan. It recognizes that the northern part of the Ordos Basin experienced a meteorite impact in the Late Cretaceous period. The impact pushed the block northwest ward, subducting after colliding with igneous rocks in the north. This sudden event formed a clear arc-shaped mountain zone in the north and a wedge-shaped trench in front of the mountain. The chaotic layers, prolonged and continuous faults, and numerous thrust layers in the Langshan, a negative anomaly area in the center of the northern Ordos, abnormal orientation of crystalline basement structures in the north of Ordos, Moho uplift, and distribution of meteorite fragments in the northwest of Langshan, all of these geological phenomena support the occurrence of the meteorite impact event, forming the arc-shaped Langshan and the Trench.

Analytical model for cratering of semi-infinite metallic targets by long rod penetrators

Analytical model is presented herein to predict the diameter of crater in semi-infinite metallic targets struck by a long rod penetrator. Based on the observation that two mechanisms such as mushrooming and cavitation are involved in cavity expansion by a long rod penetrator, the model is constructed by using the laws of conservation of mass, momentum, energy, together with the u-v relationship of the newly suggested 1D theory of long rod penetration (see Lan and Wen, Sci China Tech Sci, 2010, 53(5): 1364–1373). It is demonstrated that the model predictions are in good agreement with available experimental data and numerical simulations obtained for the combinations of penetrator and target made of different materials.

Geotechnical centrifuge model tests for explosion cratering and propagation laws of blast wave in sand

This paper presents the explosion cratering effects and their propagation laws of blast waves in dry standard sands using a 450 g-t geotechnical centrifuge apparatus.Ten centrifuge model tests were completed with various ranges of explosive mass,burial depth and centrifuge accelerations.Eleven accelerometers were installed to record the acceleration response in sand.The dimensions of the explosion craters were measured after the tests.The results demonstrated that the relationship between the dimensionless parameters of cratering efficiency and gravity scaled yield is a power regression function.Three specific function equations were obtained.The results are in general agreement with those obtained by other studies.A scaling law based on the combination of the π terms was used to fit the results of the ten model tests with a correlation coefficient of 0.931.The relationship can be conveniently used to predict the cratering effects in sand.The results also showed that the peak acceleration is a power increasing function of the acceleration level.An empirical exponent relation between the proportional peak acceleration and distance is proposed.The propagation velocity of blast waves is found to be ranged between 200 and 714 m/s.

Phenomenology of plume-surface interactions and preliminary results from the Tianwen-1 landing crater on Mars

The plume-surface interaction(PSI)is a common phenomenon that describes the environment surrounding the landers resulting from the impingement of hot rocket exhaust on the regolith of planetary bodies.The PSI will cause obscuration,erosion of the planetary surface,and high-speed spreading of dust or high-energy ejecta streams,which will induce risks to a safe landing and cause damage to payloads on the landers or to nearby assets.Safe landings and the subsequent scientific goals of deep-space exploration in China call for a comprehensive understanding of the PSI process,including the plume flow mechanics,erosion mechanism,and ejecta dynamics.In addition,the landing crater caused by the plume provides a unique and insightful perspective on the understanding of PSI.In particular,the PSI can be used directly to constrain the composition,structure,and mechanical properties of the surface and subsurface soil.In this study,we conducted a systematic review of the phenomenology and terrestrial tests of PSI:we analyzed the critical factors in the PSI process and compared the differences in PSI phenomena between lunar and Martian conditions;we also reviewed the main erosion mechanisms and the evolution and development of terrestrial tests on PSI.We discuss the problems with PSI,challenges of terrestrial tests,and prospects of PSI,and we show the preliminary results obtained from the landing crater caused by the PSI of Tianwen-1.From analysis of the camera images and digital elevation model reconstructions,we concluded that the landing of Tianwen-1 caused the deepest crater(depth>40 cm)on a planetary surface reported to date and revealed stratigraphic layers in the subsurface of Martian soil.We further constrained the lower bounds of the mechanical properties of Martian soil by a slope stability analysis of the Tianwen-1 landing crater.The PSI may offer promising opportunities to obtain greater insights into planetary science,including the subsurface structure,mineral composition,and properties of soil.

Formation mechanism of the Lidang circular structure in the Guangxi Province

The Lidang circular structure in the center of the Guangxi Province is about 8 km in diameter. This structure appears as an abnormal shallow depression that has disturbed the rather harmonic regional joint systems. Its unique occurrence in the whole region, the circular morphology, negative topography, and the spatial distribution of interior and exterior strata are all consistent with those of impact craters that are formed by asteroidal or cometary collision. To test the impact hypothesis, we carried out both field investigation and remote sensing study of this structure. Regional geological history suggests that if the impact hypothesis were correct, the impact event should have occurred at or after the Early Permian. Field investigation found that the strata inside and outside the crater are dominated by parallel stacks of Lower and Upper Permian limestone that have various thicknesses and different mud contents. The layers of limestone within and outside the circular structure have identical attitudes;no structural disturbances were visible in the outcrops. Field investigations provide conclusive evidence against the impact cratering hypothesis. A high-resolution digital elevation model shows that the spatial distribution of rounded mountains within the structure is controlled by faint but continual extension of joints, suggesting that the crater interior has gone through a much higher degree of erosion. Therefore, regional joints that had once existed within the crater are preserved less well than exterior terrains, forming the abruptly disrupted circular depression. Differential erosion, as the possible formation mechanism of the Lidang structure, is consistent with the different mud contents found between the interior and exterior limestone. The circular outline of this structure may correspond to the shape of the original deposition basin. In conclusion, the Lidang circular structure is a polje formed by karstification, not an astrobleme.

Australasian microtektites across the Antarctic continent: Evidence from the Sør Rondane Mountain range (East Antarctica)

The~790 ka Australasian(micro)tektite strewn field is one of the most recent and best-known examples of impact ejecta emplacement as the result of a large-scale cratering event across a considerable part of Earth's surface(>10%in area).The Australasian strewn field is characterized by a tri-lobe pattern consisting of a large central distribution lobe,and two smaller side lobes extending to the west and east.Here,we report on the discovery of microtektite-like particles in sedimentary traps,containing abundant micrometeorite material,in the Sør Rondane Mountain(SRM)range of East Antarctica.The thirty-three glassy particles display a characteristic pale yellowcolor and are predominantly spherical in shape,except for a single dumbbell-shaped particle.The vitreous spherules range in size from220 to 570μm,with an average diameter of~370μm.This compares relatively well with the size distribution(75–778μm)of Australasian microtektites previously recovered from the TransantarcticMountains(TAM)and located ca.2500–3000 km fromthe SRM.In addition,the chemical composition of the SRM particles exhibits limited variation and is nearly identical to the‘normal-type’(i.e.,<6%MgO)TAM microtektites.The Sr and Nd isotope systematics for a single batch of SRM particles(n=26)strongly support their affiliation with TAMmicrotektites and the Australasian tektite strewn field in general.Furthermore,Sr isotope ratios and Nd model ages suggest that the target material of the SRM particles was composed of a plagioclase-or carbonate-rich lithology derived from a Paleo-or Mesoproterozoic crustal unit.The affiliation to the Australasian strewn field requires long-range transportation,with estimated great circle distances of ca.11,600 km from the hypothetical source crater,provided transportation occurred along the central distribution lobe.This is in agreement with the observations made for the Australasian microtektites recovered from Victoria Land(ca.11,000 km)and Larkman Nunatak(ca.12,000 km),which,on average,decrease in size and alkali concentrations(e.g.,Na and K)as their distance from the source crater increases.The values for the SRMparticles are intermediate to those of the Victoria Land and Larkman Nunatak microtektites for both parameters,thus supporting this observation.We therefore interpret the SRM particles as‘normal-type’Australasian microtektites,which significantly extend the central distribution lobe of the Australasian strewn field westward.Australasian microtektite distribution thus occurred on a continent-wide scale across Antarctica and allows for the identification of new,potential recovery sites on the Antarctic continent as well as the southeastern part of the Indian Ocean.Similar to volcanic ash layers,the~790 ka distal Australasian impact ejecta are thus a record of an instantaneous event that can be used for time-stratigraphic correlation across Antarctica.

Fine debris flows formed by the Orientale basin

The prototype for investigations of formation mechanisms and related geological effects of large impact basins on planetary bodies has been the Orientale basin on the Moon.Its widespread secondaries,light plains,and near-rim melt flows have been well mapped in previous studies.Flow features are also widely associated with secondaries on planetary bodies,but their physical properties are not well constrained.The nature of flow features associated with large impact basins are critically important to understand the emplacement process of basin ejecta,which is one of the most fundamental processes in shaping the shallow crusts of planetary bodies.Here we use multisource remote sensing data to constrain the physical properties of flow features formed by the secondaries of the Orientale basin.The results suggest that such flows are dominated by centimeter-scale fine debris fines;larger boulders are not abundant.The shattering of target materials during the excavation of the Orientale basin,landing impact of ejecta that formed the secondaries,and grain comminution within the flows have substantially reduced particle sizes,forming the fine flows.The discovery of global-wide fine debris flows formed by large impact basins has profound implications to the interpretation of both previously-returned samples and remote sensing data.

A method of laser focusing control in microlaser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

This paper presents a method for the automatic adjustment of the laser defocusing amount in micro-laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. A microscopic optical imaging system consisting of a CCD camera and a 20× objective lens was adopted to realize the method. The real-time auto-focusing of the system was achieved by detecting the effective pixels of the light spot generated by the laser pointer. The focusing accuracy of the method could achieve 3 μm. The element concentrations of Mn and Ni in low-alloy steels were analyzed at a crater diameter of about 35 μm using the presented method. After using the presented method, the determination coefficients of Mn and Ni both exceeded 0.997, with the root-mean-square errors being 0.0133 and 0.0395, respectively. Scanning analysis was performed on the inclined plane and the curved surface by means of focusing control and non-focusing control. Ten characteristic spectral lines of Fe were selected as the analysis lines. With the focusing control, the average relative standard deviations obtained on the inclined plane and curved surface were both less than 5%, and much less than the values without focusing control, 14.6% and 40.39%.

Improvement parameters in dynamic compaction adjacent to the slopes

Dynamic compaction is a cost-effective method commonly used for improvement of sandy soils.A number of researchers have investigated experimentally and numerically the improvement parameters of soils using dynamic compaction,such as crater depth,improvement depth,and radial improvement,however,these parameters are not studied for improvement adjacent to the slopes or trenches.In this research,four different slopes with different inclinations are modeled numerically using the fi nite element code ABAQUS,and impact loads of dynamic compaction are applied.The static factors of safety are kept similar for all trenches and determined numerically by application of gravity loads to the slope using strength reduction method(SRM).The analysis focuses on crater depth and improvement region which are compared to the state of fl at ground.It can be observed that compacted area adjacent to the slopes is narrower and slightly away from the slope compared to the fl at state.Moreover,crater depth increases with increase in slope inclination.

The subsurface structure and stratigraphy of the Chang’E-4 landing site:orbital evidence from small craters on the Von Kármán crater floor

Chang’E-4(CE-4)successfully landed on the floor of the Von Kármán crater within the South Pole-Aitken basin(SPA).One of its scientific objectives is to determine the subsurface structure and the thickness of lunar regolith at the landing site and along the traverse route of the Yutu-2 rover.Using orbital data,we employed small craters(diameters<1 km)on the floor of the Von Kármán crater as probes to investigate the subsurface structure and stratigraphy of the CE-4 landing site.In this study,40 dark-haloed craters that penetrate through the surface Finsen ejecta and excavate underlying mare deposits were identified,and 77 bright ray craters that expose only the underlying fresh materials but do not penetrate through the surface Finsen ejecta were found.The excavation depths of these craters and their distances from the Finsen crater center were calculated,and the thickness distribution of Finsen ejecta on the Von Kármán floor was systematically investigated.The boundary between Finsen ejecta and underlying mare basalt at the CE-4 landing site is constrained to a depth of 18 m.We have proposed the stratigraphy for the CE-4 site and interpreted the origins of different layers and the geological history of the Von Kármán crater.These results provide valuable geological background for interpreting data from the Lunar Penetrating Radar(LPR)and Visible and Near-infrared Imaging Spectrometer(VNIS)on the Yutu-2 rover.The CE-4 landing site could provide a reference point for crater ejecta distribution and mixing with local materials,to test and improve ejecta thickness models according to the in situ measurements of the CE-4 LPR.

Investigating the surface integrity of aluminium based composites machined by EDM

In the present work, the surface characteristics of Electrical Discharge Machined (EDM) Al (6351)eSiC and Al (6351)eSiCeB4C composites are investigated. The composites are prepared by employing the conventional stir casting technique, as it can produce better particle dispersion in the matrix. The detailed experimental study is performed on the composites by varying current (I), duty factor (t), pulse on time (Ton), and the gap voltage (V) in order to analyze the Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) formed in the sub surface and the average crater diameter formed on the machined surface of the composites as an output function. The formation of recast layers, presence of bubbles and the surface texture of the composites at various machining conditions are observed. The results show that the increased Metal Removal Rate (MRR) increases the depth of HAZ and the average crater diameter on the machined area. Further, the addition of B4C particles to the composite produces more surface defect than the AleSiC composite.

Shadow–highlight feature matching automatic small crater recognition using high-resolution digital orthophoto map from Chang’E Missions

This paper introduces a new method of small lunar craters’ automatic identification, using digital orthophoto map(DOM) data. The core of the approach is the fact that the lunar exploration DOM data reveal contrasting highlight and shadow characteristics of small craters under sunlight irradiation. This research effort combines image processing and mathematical modeling. Overall it proposes a new planetary data processing approach, to segment and extract the highlight and shadow regions of small craters,using the image gray frequency(IGF) statistical method.IGF can also be applied to identify the coupling relationships between small craters’ shape and their relative features. This paper presents the highlight and shadow pair matching(HSPM) model which manages to perform highprecision automatic recognition of small lunar craters.Testing was performed using the DOM data of Chang’E-2(CE-2). The results have shown that the proposed method has a high level of successful detection rate. The proposed methodology that uses DOM data can complement the drawbacks of the digital elevation model(DEM) that has a relatively high false detection rate. A hybrid fusion model(FUM) that combines both DOM and DEM data, was carried out to simultaneously identify small, medium, and large-sized craters. It has been proven that the FUM generally shows stronger recognition ability compared to previous approaches and it can be adapted for high precision identification of craters on the whole lunar surface.The results meet the requirements for a reliable and accurate exploration of the Moon and the planets.

A rocky hill on the continuous ejecta of Ziwei crater revealed by the Chang’e-3 mission

The Chinese Chang’e-3 mission landed close to the eastern rim of the ~450 m diameter Ziwei crater. Regional stratigraphy of the landing site and impact excavation model suggest that the bulk continuous ejecta deposits of the Ziwei crater are composed by Erathothenian-aged mare basalts. Along the traverse of the Yutu rover, the western segment features a gentle topographic uplift(~0.5 m high over ~4 m), which is spatially connected with the structurally-uplifted crater rim. Assuming that this broad topographic uplift has physical properties discontinuous with materials below, we use data returned by the high-frequency lunar penetrating radar onboard the Yutu rover to estimate the possible range of relative permittivity for this topographic uplift. Only when the relative permittivity is ~9 is the observed radar reflection consistent with the observed topography, suggesting that the topographic uplift is composed of basaltic blocks that were excavated by the Ziwei crater. This result is consistent both with the impact excavation model that predicts deeper basaltic materials being deposited closer to the crater rim, and with observation of numerous half-buried boulders on the surface of this hill. We note that this study is the first to use topography and radargram data to estimate the relative permittivity of lunar surface uplifts, an approach that has had many successful applications on Mars. Similar approaches can apply other ground penetrating radar data for the Moon, such as will be available from the ongoing Chang’e-4 mission.

Spratlies Archipelago as the Australasian Tektite Impact Crater, Details of Formation &Richard Muller’s Dust Cloud Explanation for the Mid-Pleistocene Ice Age Cycle Transition

Several significant events of a geological nature occurred approximately 800 ka before the present: (1) Australasian tektite fall (AA), (2) Brunhes-Matuyama geomagnetic reversal (BMR), (3) mid-Pleistocene changes in ice age cycles. Add to these the undated fault system (4) in the South-West (SW) of the South China Sea (SCS). Here we offer a unified cause for all four of these in (5), an impact in the SCS of a large, massive cosmic object, likely a comet, obliquely coming from the SW at an extremely shallow angle, striking the Sunda shelf yet unexploded with the shock of its compressed air bow wave, and causing the continual shelf and slope to collapse, resulting in the fault system (4), then traveling almost tangentially to the surface, exploding at impact with the sea surface, ejecting the tektites (1), creating the formation underlying the later atolls of Spratlies Archipelago (6), Nansha Islands in Chinese, & causing the BMR (2). An explanation of event (3) was Richard Muller’s hypothesis of planet Earth passing through an interplanetary dust cloud periodically due to ecliptic precession. Here we hypothesize this cloud actually is a belt of Australasian tektites ejected into space at super-orbital velocities that Earth encounters about every 100 ka.

Visualization of High-Speed Impact of Penetrator into Icy Target

For application to exploration under the surface of icy objects in the solar system, the penetration of an impact probe into an icy target was experimentally simulated by using the ballistic range. Slender projectiles with a cylindrical body and various nose shapes were tested at the impact velocity 130 - 420 m/s. The motion of the penetrator, fragmentation of ice and crater forming were observed by the high-speed camera. It revealed that the crown-shaped ejection was made for a short time after the impact and then the outward normal jet-like stream of ice pieces continued for much longer time. The concave shape of the crater was successfully visualized by pouring the plaster into it. The two-stage structure, the pit and the spall, was clearly confirmed. The rim was not formed around the crater. Observation of the crater surface and the ice around the trace of the penetrator shows that both crushing into smaller ice pieces and recompression into ice blocks are caused by the forward motion of the penetrator. In case of a body with a flow-through duct, ice pieces entering the inlet at the nose tip were ejected from the tail, resulting in relaxation of the impact force. The correlation of the penetration distance and the crater diameter with the impact velocity was investigated.

Tanzania Heart of Attraction

Ground waters in the Ngorongoro Crater,Tanzania, home to thousands of large mammals and a World Heritage Site,is controlled by the volcanic host rock lithology,evaporative concentration,mineral precipitation and re-dissolution,and biological factors.There are evaporative concentration and biological activity in swamps commonly produce strong

Correlation of the largest craters,stratigraphic impact signatures,and extinction events over the past 250 Myr

The six largest known impact craters of the last 250 Myr(≥70 km in diameter),which are capable of causing significant environmental damage,coincide with four times of recognized extinction events at 36(with 2 craters),66,and 145 Myr ago,and possibly with two provisional extinction events at 168 and215 Myr ago.These impact cratering events are accompanied by layers in the geologic record interpreted as impact ejecta.Chance occurrences of impacts and extinctions can be rejected at confidence levels of99.96%(for 4 impact/extinctions)to 99.99%(for 6 impact/extinctions).These results argue that several extinction events over the last 250 Myr may be related to the effects of large-body impacts.

Peridynamic Modeling and Simulation of Ice Craters By Impact

In the present work,a state-based peridynamics with adaptive particle refinement is proposed to simulate water ice crater formation due to impact loads.A modified Drucker-Prager constitutive model was adopted to model ice and was implemented in the state-based peridynamic equations to analyze the elastic-plastic deformation of ice.In simulations,we use the fracture toughness failure criterion in peridynamics to simulate the quasi-brittle failure of ice.An adaptive particle refinement method in peridynamics was proposed to improve computational efficiency.The results obtained using the peridynamic model were compared with the experiments in previous literatures.It was found that the peridynamic simulation results and the experiments matched well except for some minor differences discussed,and the state-based peridynamic model has shown the specific predictive capacity to capture the detailed crater features of the ice.

Timings of early crustal activity in southern highlands of Mars:Periods of crustal stretching and shortening

Extensional and compressional structures are globally abundant on Mars. Distribution of these structures and their ages constrain the crustal stress state and tectonic evolution of the planet. Here in this paper, we report on our investigation over the distribution of the tectonic structures and timings of the associated stress fields from the Noachis-Sabaea region. Thereafter, we hypothesize possible origins in relation to the internal/external processes through detailed morphostructural mapping. In doing so, we have extracted the absolute model ages of these linear tectonic structures using crater size-frequency distribution measurements, buffered crater counting in particular. The estimated ages indicate that the tectonic structures are younger than the mega impacts events(especially Hellas) and instead they reveal two dominant phases of interior dynamics prevailing on the southern highlands, firstly the extensional phase terminating around3.8 Ga forming grabens and then compressional phase around 3.5-3.6 Ga producing wrinkle ridges and lobate scarps. These derived absolute model ages of the grabens exhibit the age ca. 100 Ma younger than the previously documented end of the global extensional phase. The following compressional activity corresponds to the peak of global contraction period in Early Hesperian. Therefore, we conclude that the planet wide heat loss mechanism, involving crustal stretching coupled with gravitationally driven relaxation(i.e.,lithospheric mobility) resulted in the extensional structures around Late Noachian(around 3.8 Ga). Lately cooling related global contraction generated compressional stress ensuing shortening of the upper crust of the southern highlands at the Early Hesperian period(around 3.5-3.6 Ga).