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Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms pp 1–3Cite as

Pitted Pedestal Crater

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Definition

A pedestal crater with pits along its margins.

Description

Pitted pedestal craters display an outward facing marginal scarp (a characteristic feature of pedestal craters) interrupted by pits (Fig. 1). Both crater floor and pedestal are elevated above the surrounding surface (a characteristic feature of perched craters), but the crater is not infilled. They also have an excess ejecta (Excess Ejecta Crater). Pitted pedestal craters are perched an average of ~100 m above surrounding plains, much higher than normal pedestal craters. Individual pits are characterized by cuspate shapes and alcove-like features and have a typical depth of ~20 m. Pits show no preferential orientation. Pits form at the pedestal margin, rather than in the adjacent surrounding terrain. Pits may contain small isolated mesas. Pits often appear to coalesce to form a moat-like structure that extends along a significant part of the pedestal circumference (Kadish et al. 2008).

Fig. 1
figure 1

An excess ejecta pitted...

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References

  • Kadish SJ, Head JW, Barlow NG, Marchant DR (2008) Martian pedestal craters: marginal sublimation pits implicate a climate-related formation mechanism. Geophys Res Lett 35:L16104. doi:10.1029/2008GL034990

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  • Kadish SJ, Barlow NG, Head JW (2009) Latitude dependence of Martian pedestal craters: evidence for a sublimation-driven formation mechanism. J Geophys Res 114:E10001. doi:10.1029/2008JE003318

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  • Kadish SJ, Head JW, Barlow NG (2010) Pedestal crater heights on Mars: a proxy for the thicknesses of past, ice-rich, Amazonian deposits. Icarus 210:92–101

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Planetary Science Research Group, Eötvös Loránd University, Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, Budapest, Hungary

    Henrik Hargitai

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  1. Henrik Hargitai
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Correspondence to Henrik Hargitai .

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Hargitai, H. (2014). Pitted Pedestal Crater. In: Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_270-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_270-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-9213-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences

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