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Low-velocity impact craters in ice and ice-saturated sand with implications for Martian crater count ages.

January 1, 1979

We produced a series of decimeter-sized impact craters in blocks of ice near 0oC and -70oC and in ice-saturated sand near -70oC as a preliminary investigation of cratering in materials analogous to those found on Mars and the outer solar satellites. Crater diameters in the ice-saturated sand were 2 times larger than craters in the same energy and velocity range in competent blocks of granite, basalt and cement. Craters in ice were c.3 times larger. Martian impact crater energy versus diameter scaling may thus be a function of latitude. -from Authors

Publication Year 1979
Title Low-velocity impact craters in ice and ice-saturated sand with implications for Martian crater count ages.
Authors S.K. Croft, S. W. Kieffer, T.J. Ahrens
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Journal of Geophysical Research
Index ID 70012224
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse