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Topographic mapping of paterae and layered plains on Io using photoclinometry
Author(s) -
White Oliver L.,
Schenk Paul M.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: planets
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9100
pISSN - 2169-9097
DOI - 10.1002/2014je004672
Subject(s) - landform , geology , digital elevation model , scale (ratio) , outcrop , elevation (ballistics) , remote sensing , albedo (alchemy) , mars exploration program , geomorphology , geodesy , cartography , geography , astrobiology , geometry , physics , art , mathematics , performance art , art history
We have generated regional scale photoclinometry digital elevation models (DEMs) from Voyager and Galileo imagery of Io that resolve small‐scale topographic features including paterae and layered plains. Given the difficulty of applying this technique to Io due to its anomalous surface albedo properties, we have experimented extensively with the relevant procedures in order to generate what we consider to be the most reliable DEMs. The DEMs have been used to gauge the depths of 23 paterae and the heights of 12 layered plains outcrops, and we find the very similar relief and frequent close association of the two landforms to support the existence of a mixed silicate‐volatile layer covering much of the surface of Io.