Definition
Complex craters (or “basins”) which exhibit a rim crest and both an interior central peak and internal ring of massifs (peak ring) (Baker et al. 2011a).
Category
A transitional type between complex craters and peak-ring structures.
Synonyms
Description
A protobasin is a transitional impact structure type between central peak crater and peak-ring basin, exhibiting characteristic features of both. It possesses both a central peak and an interior ring of peaks. Both of these features are generally smaller in diameter and have less topographic relief than either central peaks in complex craters and peak rings in peak-ring basins (Pike 1988).
Formation
A relative reduction in central peak volume...
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References
Baker DMH, Head JW, Fassett CI, Kadish SJ, Smith DE, Zuber MT, Neumann GA (2011a) The transition from complex crater to peak-ring basin on the Moon: new observations from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) instrument. Icarus 214:377–393
Baker DMH, Head JW, Schon SC, Ernst CM, Prockter LM, Murchie SL, Denevi BW, Solomon SC, Strom RG (2011b) The transition from complex crater to peak-ring basin on Mercury: new observations from MESSENGER flyby data and constraints on basin formation models. Planet Space Sci 59(15):1932–1948. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2011.05.010
Hale W, Grieve R (1982) Volumetric analysis of complex Lunar craters: implications for basin ring formation. J Geophys Res 87(S1):A65–A76
Pike RJ (1982) Crater peaks to basin rings: the transition on Mercury and other bodies. NASA Tech Memo, NASA TM-85127, pp 117–119
Pike RJ (1983) Large craters or small basins on the Moon. Lunar Planet Sci Conf XIV:610–611, Houston
Pike RJ (1988) Geomorphology of impact craters on Mercury. In: Vilas F, Chapman CR, Matthews MS (eds) Mercury. University Arizona Press, Tucson, pp 165–273
Wood CA, Tam W (1993) Morphologic classes of impact basins on Venus. Lunar Planet Sci Conf XXIV:1535–1536, Houston
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Baker, D.M.H. (2015). Protobasin. In: Hargitai, H., Kereszturi, Á. (eds) Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3134-3_427
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3134-3_427
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