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Patera, Paterae

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms

A descriptor term used in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

Current Definition

An irregular crater or a complex one with scalloped edges (de Vaucouleur et al. 1975; IAU 2014).

Other Definitions

Shallow, complex edge craters (Burba 1990).

Origin of Term

Flat, round dish or cup without a handle with a bulge in the middle; Latin (patella, dim.); from phiale: (1) libation vessel and (2) building or columned arcade around a fountain; ancient Greek.

Notes

Mars

“The term patera was originally applied to any large, flat-floored depression with irregular margins identified in Mariner 9 and Viking imagery and included volcanoes as well as impact craters” (Greeley and Spudis 1981). Over time, the sizes of several paterae have increased in the planetary nomenclature database from the sizes of the central depressions to the sizes of the entire edifices. In 2007, the sizes of these paterae have been adjusted to correspond only to the central depressions, and the entire constructs have been...

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Planetary Science Research Group, Eötvös Loránd University, Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, Budapest, Hungary

    Henrik Hargitai

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  1. Henrik Hargitai
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Correspondence to Henrik Hargitai .

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Hargitai, H. (2014). Patera, Paterae. In: Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_528-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_528-1

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  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-9213-9

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