Tuesday, April 11, 2023
Miranda's Thick Regolith Indicates a Major Mantling Event from an Unknown Source
Presenter: Dr. Chloe Beddingfield (SETI Institute)
Topic: Miranda's Thick Regolith Indicates a Major Mantling Event from an Unknown Source
Abstract: We investigated "muted" craters and scarps across Miranda's cratered terrain. The morphologies of the muted craters are most consistent with modification by regolith deposition instead of erosion or viscous relaxation. We used three techniques to estimate regolith thickness. The results of our analyses indicate that Miranda has one of the thickest regolith layers in the solar system, which could have important implications for its interior thermal properties. Regolith appears to mantle some scarps within Arden, but not Elsinore or Inverness, indicating that Arden may be the oldest corona, contrary to previous relative age estimates. We propose three possible sources for Miranda's thick regolith: (1) giant impact ejecta, (2) plume deposits, and (3) Uranian ring deposits. Follow-up studies that investigate these three scenarios are required.
Questions? jodi.berdis@jhuapl.edu
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