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Encyclopedia of Lunar Science pp 1–8Cite as

Lunar Impact Melt Deposits

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Definition

Impact melt refers to the partially or completely molten material, produced during the impact cratering process on planetary bodies, which has subsequently cooled to attain various degrees of crystallinity and morphological form.

Introduction

Impact cratering is a fundamental planetary process that has taken place across the solar system, from the rocky bodies in the inner part to the icy bodies in the outer reaches. The geological imprints of this process are preserved on the surface in the form of craters and the material that was excavated and deposited during the crater-forming event. Impact melt represents part of the displaced material that was also melted to various extents during the cratering process. The melt deposits occur both inside and outside of the crater with the relative proportion of emplaced melt being influenced by the crater size. Larger craters tend to retain relatively larger volumes of impact melt on the crater floors compared to the smaller craters...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Deepak Dhingra

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  1. Deepak Dhingra
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Correspondence to Deepak Dhingra .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Prairie View A&M University, Houston, Texas, USA

    Brian Cudnik

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Physics, Albion College, 324 Palenske Hall, 49224, Albion, MI, USA

    Nicolle E. B. Zellner Ph.D

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Dhingra, D. (2017). Lunar Impact Melt Deposits. In: Cudnik, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Lunar Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05546-6_22-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05546-6_22-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-05546-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-05546-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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