Definition
A type of crater-associated radar-dark diffuse feature on Venus having a parabolic shape.
Description
Radar-dark parabolas (DP) are crater-associated radar-dark diffuse features on Venus interpreted as mantles of fine-grained material covering the local substrate. Dark parabolas envelop the impact crater near its “focus.” Dark parabolas cover large areas, up to ~2,630,000 km2 (crater Greenaway); the lengths of observed DPs vary between ~11 and ~50 crater diameters (Campbell et al. 1992). Each dark parabola is oriented along an east–west axis with the apex facing the east and the open end facing the west. The majority of radar-dark parabolas on Venus are characterized by a smooth surface at scales of 1–100 m; some parabolas show asymmetric small-scale relief (like microdune fields) formed as a result of wind action (Bondarenko and Head 2009).
Formation
The strong east–west directionality of DPs suggests a correlation with the high-altitude zonal winds on Venus, which blow...
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References
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Bondarenko, N. (2022). Radar-Dark Parabola. In: Hargitai, H., Kereszturi, Á. (eds) Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_449-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_449-2
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Latest
Radar-Dark Parabola- Published:
- 30 June 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_449-2
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Radar-Dark Parabola- Published:
- 16 May 2014
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_449-1