Madrid, 24 (European Press)
The frequency of asteroid collisions that form impact craters on Mars has remained constant over the past 600 million years.
The study, published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters by scientists at Curtin University, analyzed the formation of more than 500 large craters on Mars using a crater-detection algorithm previously developed at Curtin University, which automatically calculates craters that can be seen from a high-resolution image.
Despite previous studies indicating spikes in the frequency of asteroid collisions, lead researcher Dr. Anthony Lagen, of the Curtin School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said his research has found that they haven’t changed much over time, for several million years.
Lakin said counting craters on the planet’s surface is the only way to accurately date geological events, such as canyons, rivers and volcanoes, and predict when and how large future collisions will occur.
“On Earth, erosion of tectonic plates is erasing our planet’s history. Studying planetary bodies in our solar system that still retain their early geological history, such as Mars, helps us understand the evolution of our planet,” he said in a statement.
“The crater detection algorithm gives us a deep understanding of the formation of impact craters, including their size and number, and the timing and frequency of asteroid collisions that resulted in them.”
Lajeen said previous studies have suggested an increase in the timing and frequency of asteroid collisions due to debris production.
“When large objects collide with each other, they break up into bits or debris, which is thought to have an effect on creating impact craters. Our study shows that the debris is unlikely to cause any change in the formation of impact craters on planetary surfaces.”
Co-author and leader of the team that created the algorithm, Professor Gretchen Benedix, said the algorithm could also be adapted to work on other planetary surfaces, including the Moon.
“The formation of thousands of craters on the Moon can now be automatically dated and their formation frequency analyzed at a higher resolution to investigate their evolution,” Benedix said.
“This will provide us with valuable information that could have future practical applications in nature conservation and agriculture, such as forest fire detection and land use classification,” he concluded.
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