The scaling of complex craters

Abstract

The empirical relation between the transient crater diameter (D g ) and final crater diameter (D r ) of complex craters and basins is estimated using cumulative terrace widths, central uplift diameters, continuous ejecta radii, and transient crater reconstructions determined from lunar and terrestrial impact structures. The ratio D g /D r is a power law function of D r , decreasing uniformly from unity at the diameter of the simple‐complex crater morphology transition to about 0.5 for large multiring basins like Imbrium on the moon. The empirical constants in the D g /D r relation are interpreted physically to mean that the position of the final rim relative to the transient crater, and hence the extent of collapse, is controlled or greatly influenced by the properties of the zone of dissociated material produced by the impact shock. The continuity of the D g /D r relation over the entire spectrum of morphologic types from complex craters to multiring basins implies that the rims of all these structures form in the same tectonic environment despite morphologic differences.