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Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms pp 1–5Cite as

Radar-Dark Parabola

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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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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of California - Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA

    Nataliya Bondarenko

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  1. Nataliya Bondarenko
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Correspondence to Nataliya Bondarenko .

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Bondarenko, N. (2014). Radar-Dark Parabola. In: Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_449-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_449-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-9213-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Radar-Dark Parabola
    Published:
    30 June 2022

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_449-2

  2. Original

    Radar-Dark Parabola
    Published:
    16 May 2014

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_449-1

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