HR: 0800h
AN: ED51A-0004    [Abstracts]
TI: The Explorer's Guide to Impact Craters
AU: * Pierazzo, E
EM: betty@psi.edu
AF: Planetary Science Institute, 1700 E. Fort Lowell Rd., Suite 106, Tucson, AZ 85719 United States
AU: Osinski, G
EM: osinski@lpl.arizona.edu
AF: Planetary Science Institute, 1700 E. Fort Lowell Rd., Suite 106, Tucson, AZ 85719 United States
AU: Osinski, G
EM: osinski@lpl.arizona.edu
AF: Lunar & Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 United States
AU: Chuang, F
EM: chuang@psi.edu
AF: Planetary Science Institute, 1700 E. Fort Lowell Rd., Suite 106, Tucson, AZ 85719 United States
AB: Impact cratering is a fundamental geologic process of our solar system. It competes with other processes, such as plate tectonics, volcanism, or fluvial, glacial and eolian activity, in shaping the surfaces of planetary bodies. In some cases, like the Moon and Mercury, impact craters are the dominant landform. On other planetary bodies impact craters are being continuously erased by the action of other geological processes, like volcanism on Io, erosion and plate tectonics on the Earth, tectonic and volcanic resurfacing on Venus, or ancient erosion periods on Mars. The study of crater populations is one of the principal tools for understanding the geologic history of a planetary surface. Among the general public, impact cratering has drawn wide attention through its portrayal in several Hollywood movies. Questions that are raised after watching these movies include: ``How do scientists learn about impact cratering?'', and ``What information do impact craters provide in understanding the evolution of a planetary surface?'' Fundamental approaches used by scientists to learn about impact cratering include field work at known terrestrial craters, remote sensing studies of craters on various solid surfaces of solar system bodies, and theoretical and laboratory studies using the known physics of impact cratering. We will provide students, science teachers, and the general public an opportunity to experience the scientific endeavor of understanding and exploring impact craters through a multi-level approach including images, videos, and rock samples. This type of interactive learning can also be made available to the general public in the form of a website, which can be addressed worldwide at any time.
DE: 5420 Impact phenomena (includes cratering)
DE: 6605 Education
SC: Education and Human Resourcese [ED]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting