Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms

Living Edition

Modified Crater

  • Szaniszló Bérczi
  • Audeliz Matias
  • Donna M. Jurdy
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_517-1
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Definition

An impact crater that has been altered after formation due to cosmic, geologic, and atmospheric processes.

Synonyms

Altered crater

Antonyms

Preserved crater, Fresh crater, Pristine crater

Related Terms

Degraded crater, for very degraded/highly modified craters: crater remnant, crater ruin, ruined crater, fossil crater, ghost crater (almost completely buried), exhumed crater.

Description

A modified crater, according to Vilas et al. (1989, p. 759), is “a relatively old crater, significantly eroded, filled in, or superimposed by other craters so that its morphological appearance is changed from its original form.” Degraded craters are typically flat-floored and rimless, possessing no apparent ejecta blanket or central peak (Craddock and Maxwell 1990).

Postimpact crater modification is a change in crater morphology through time displaying the cumulative effects of erosion, transportation, and deposition of materials mainly by exogenic processes or material displacement by...

Keywords

Impact Crater Crater Wall Crater Diameter Crater Floor Small Crater 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Authors and Affiliations

  • Szaniszló Bérczi
    • 1
  • Audeliz Matias
    • 2
  • Donna M. Jurdy
    • 3
  1. 1.Cosmic Materials Space Research GroupEötvös Loránd UniversityBudapestHungary
  2. 2.Center for Distance LearningSUNY Empire State CollegeSaratoga SpringsUSA
  3. 3.Earth & Planetary SciencesNorthwestern UniversityEvanstonUSA