[meteorite-list] Look At All The Craters!

From: drtanuki <drtanuki_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri, 2 Apr 2010 11:11:19 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <424122.18496.qm_at_web53102.mail.re2.yahoo.com>

Eric and List,
  Yes, LIDAR, magnetic anomaly maps, and other spectral imagery can help in their search. One limiting factor is cost; another is access to the data. Google Earth? has a feature where you can fill areas with "water" to make your hunt more interesting.
    The real "craft" takes serious study, time, and money and SHOULD NOT be free for the taking as some of us have devoted much of our lives at it without monetary or personal gain.
   Any serious persons wishing information I will gladly share what I know; but this list gets heavily "mined" (often by drive-bys) without so much as a thank you.
Best Regards, Dirk Ross..Tokyo

sorry original was posted in rich text

--- On Sat, 4/3/10, Meteorites USA <eric at meteoritesusa.com> wrote:


    From: Meteorites USA <eric at meteoritesusa.com>
    Subject: [meteorite-list] Look At All The Craters!
    To: "Meteorite-list" <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
    Date: Saturday, April 3, 2010, 2:28 AM

    Thought this was interesting.

    MARS
    http://hirise-pds.lpl.arizona.edu/PDS/EXTRAS/RDR/ESP/ORB_014300_014399/ESP_014394_2045/ESP_014394_2045_RED.abrowse.jpg
     


    When considering the number of craters visible on every planet in our solar system whose surface we can see, and which have hostile atmospheres, to zero atmosphere, and also taking into consideration terrestrial weathering, erosion, and other factors which erase traces of meteorite impact craters, why are there still so many craters visible on Mars?

    When you look at the surfaces of the Moon, Mars, Venus, Mercury, the moons of the gas giants, and all asteroids especially Ceres, Vesta, Ida, and others, I would think you couldn't go very far on Earth without walking across or into the last remnants of a crater. I understand age and weathering and why there's no meteoritic material left around these most of the craters, but I guess my point is that given the sheer abundance of craters on every celestial body whose surface we can see would seem to me to be evidence of Earth's history as well.

    Given that, is there technology or a mapping system that is capable of cataloging all of Earth's impact craters? I'm not talking about the really big ones we already know about, but the smaller hard to find craters in forests, under desert sands, and ocean floors. Evidence still exists of these craters... Would magnetic anomaly maps be helpful in finding craters? Lidar, or Radar? Has anyone ever attempted to map all the craters on Earth's surface minus the trees, oceans and man-made structures?

    I know this is a lot of questions... ;)

    Regards,
    Eric Wichman
    Meteorites USA
Received on Fri 02 Apr 2010 02:11:19 PM PDT