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Sublimation‐driven erosion on Callisto: A landform simulation model test
Author(s) -
Howard Alan D.,
Moore Jeffrey M.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2007gl032618
Subject(s) - mass wasting , landform , bedrock , sublimation (psychology) , impact crater , geology , erosion , geomorphology , snow , frost (temperature) , earth science , hydrology (agriculture) , physical geography , astrobiology , geotechnical engineering , geography , sediment , psychology , physics , psychotherapist
Callisto's landscape exhibits widespread erosion from some non‐impact‐induced process, which is characterized by smooth, undulating dark albedo surfaces with isolated high albedo knobs that are remnants of crater rims. We develop a landform simulation model that incorporates sublimation erosion of exposed bedrock on crater walls, composed of ice‐cemented dust, with non‐linear mass wasting of the released dust and redeposition of the ice on convex summits. The model reproduces the essential elements of landscapes on Callisto, and lends strong support to the 1999 hypothesis of Moore and his colleagues that volatile sublimation causes slope‐forming bedrock disaggregation and subsequent mass wasting while reprecipitation caps and armors local crests with frost.