We present results from MMT/Hectochelle spectroscopy of 390 red giant candidate stars along the line of sight to the recently discovered Galactic satellite Crater 2. Modeling the joint distribution of stellar positions, velocities, and metallicities as a mixture of Crater 2 and Galactic foreground populations, we identify similar to 62 members of Crater 2, for which we resolve a line-of-sight velocity dispersion of sigma(nu los) = 2.7(-0.3)(+0.3) km s(-1) and a. mean velocity of <nu(los)> = 87.5(-0.4)(+0.4) km s(-1) (solar rest frame). We also resolve a metallicity dispersion of sigma([Fe/H]) = 0.22(-0.03)(+0.04) dex and a mean of <[Fe/H]> = 1.98(-0.1)(+0.1) dex that is 0.28 +/- 0.14 dex poorer than estimated from photometry. Despite Crater 2's relatively large size (projected halflight radius R-h similar to 1 kpc) and intermediate luminosity (M-V similar to -8), its velocity dispersion is the coldest that has been resolved for any dwarf galaxy. These properties make Crater 2 the most extreme low-density outlier in dynamical as well as structural scaling relations among the Milky Way's dwarf spheroidals. Even so, under assumptions of dynamical equilibrium and negligible contamination by unresolved binary stars, the observed velocity distribution implies a gravitationally dominant dark matter halo, with a dynamical mass of. 4.4(-0.9)(+1.2) x 10(6) M-circle dot and a mass-to-light ratio of 53(-11)(+15) M-circle dot/L-V,L-circle dot enclosed within a radius of similar to 1 kpc, where the equivalent circular velocity is 4.3(-0.5)(+0.5) km s(-1).

Impact events and associated processes can significantly reshape the natural environment of the Earth and other bodies in the Solar system. The Siljan impact crater in the middle of Sweden was created in late Devonian and it is the biggest known morphostructure of this kind in Europe. The presented paper aims at the relief evolution of the Siljan impact crater area. Landforms of the region are studied, including relicts of the impact event, and main stages of relief evolution from the Paleozoic to the present are determined. Special attention is focused to discussion about the range and types of erosional and denudational processes in relation to the level of preservation of morphological and geological indices about the Devonian impact. Ascertained knowledge about relicts of the Siljan impact event are compared with selected impact craters on the Earth, the Moon and Mars.

Des mesures de résistivité électrique et des campagnes d’observations géologiques ont été menées pour cartographier le contact sédiment/roche basale ainsi que les structures d’impact associées au cratère d’impact Bosumtwi datant de 1,07 millions d’années. Le cratère de 10,5 km de diamètre s’est formé dans des roches métamorphiques du Précambrien (2,1 à 2,2 milliard d’années), d’origine sédimentaire et volcanique. Il est actuellement rempli par le lac Bosumtwi de 8,5 km de diamètre. Ce cratère est la source des tektites et microtektites dispersées jusqu’en Côte d’Ivoire et au large des côtes ouest africaine. La campagne de mesures éophysiques consiste en 16 tomographies de résistivité électrique effectuées radialement des rives du lac vers les bords du cratère d’impact. Chaque profil utilise un système d’acquisition multi – électrodes avec une distance minimum entre les électrodes de 5 m. Les données ont été corrigées des effets topographiques et inversées en utilisant le programme commercial d’inversion Res2DInv, avec la norme L1 considérée plus robuste. La zone comprise entre les rives du lac et le bord externe du cratère de divise en trois formations géologiques principales. Les régions de faibles résistivités (< 64 .m) représentent les sédiments de lac. Les zones de resistivités moyennes (entre 128 et 200 .m) sont interprétées comme des brèches liées à l’impact, en dikes, allochtones ou parautochtones. Les régions de hautes résistivités (> 128 .m) représentent les roches métamorphiques sous-jacentes, d’origine volcanique ou sédimentaire. Les profils de résistivités permettent de retrouver la géométrie et l’extension latérale de ces trois types de roches. Une correspondance directe entre la lithologie observée en surface et les structures mises en évidence par les mesures de résistivité électrique dans le sous-sol est observée à Dwamam au Sud-Est dulac. À Dwamam, les sédiments sont environ à 200 m de la rive du lac et s’étendent environ sur 400 m vers les les bords du cratère, à la différence des autres zones où ont pu être cartographiés les sédiments. La topographie du contact sédiment/roche basale présente une direction particulière NE-SO avec un pendage variant entre 16 degrés au NE et 36 degrés au SO. Une majorité de fractures ont été remarquées dans le SO, remplies par des clasts et des brèches d’impacts. Les failles sont surtout présentent à l’Ouest du lac. En moyenne elles présentent un pendage variant entre 60o à l’Est et 80 degrés à l’Ouest du cratère. Des analyses statistiques ont été effectuées sur les directions et les pendages des failles selon les loi de von Mises et Fisher. Elles démontrent que les failles s’alignent préférentiellement le long de deux directions principales. L’analyse cumulée de la surface de contact sédiment/roche, des failles et de la localisation du champ de dispersion des tektites indique que le bolide d’environ 0,8 à 1 km de diamètre responsable du cratère est arrivé du NE. Les résultats démontrent que les panneaux de résistivité électrique fournissent des informations utiles pour l’étude des cratères d’impact. / Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and geological field surveys have been used to map the sediment/bedrock contact and impact related structures of the 1.07 Myr old Bosumtwi impact crater. The 10.5 km complex crater excavated in 2.1–2.2 Gyr Precambrian metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks is filled by the 8.5 km Lake Bosumtwi. It is the source crater of the tektites and microtektites of the Ivory Coast strewn field. Electrical resistivity survey was carried out sixteen (16) profiles running from the shore of the lake towards the rim of the crater. The multi-electrode gradient array method with minimum electrode separation of 5 m was used. The data were corrected for topography and inverted using the L1–norm (robust inversion) techniqueof the Res2DInv software. The area extending from the lake shore towards the crater rim contains essentially three formations. The low resistivity regions (< 64 .m) represent the lake sediments. The moderately high resistivity regions with values between 128 and 200 .m were interpreted as impact related breccias (dikes, allochthonous or parautochthonous) depending on their geometries. Lastly, the model clearly differentiate the resistive basement metamorphic rocks (> 128 .m) fromthe lake sediments and the breccias due to their geometry and lateral extent. Also observed was a direct correspondence between the lithology on the surface and the subsurface resistivity structures at Dwamam in the southeast section of the lake. At Dwamam, the sediments were about 200 m away from the shore and stretch about 400 m towards the crater rim unlike in other areas where the sediments were mapped from the shore. The gradient of the sediments/bedrock contact showsa symmetry in the NE–SW direction and dips between the lowest of 16 degrees in the NE to the highest 36 degrees in the SW. Majority of the fractures marked were in the southwest and were filled with clasts or impact breccia matrix. The faults were mostly delineated in the west. Averagely, the dips of the faults are about 60 degrees and 80 degrees for the east and west sections of the crater respectively. The dips of the faults were statistically treated using the von Mises and Fisher statistics, it was found that the faults have a preferred direction and it is possible to determine at least two different orientations. Theanalysis of the results of the sediments/bedrock surface and the faults combined with the location of the tektite strewn field indicate that the about 0.8–1 km bolide that created the complex crater came from the NE. The findings have shown that the ERT is efficient and a useful tool in impact cratering science research.

Araguainha é a maior e mais bem exposta cratera complexa da América do Sul, formada em sedimentos horizontais da Bacia do Paraná. Sua portentosa estrutura com aproximados 40 km de diâmetro e 25 km de cavidade transiente revela um contraste negativo de densidade e susceptibilidade magnética na região do soerguimento central. Esta feição permite inferir um limite de propriedade física entre o Núcleo Central Soerguido (NCS) e o Embasamento Granítico Soerguido (EGS), que por sua vez apresenta baixa razão de Koenigsberger. A caracterização geofísica de Araguainha é sustentada por modelamento 2,5D com base em informações gravimétricas, aeromagnéticas e magnéticas terrestres, o que permite classificá-la como uma estrutura concêntrica e simétrica, com profundidade média do embasamento a 1,0 km, exceto para a borda sul, que apresenta soerguimento mais acentuado. A interface embasamento/sedimento é seccionada por pares espelhados de falhas radiais que surgem no estágio de modificação da cratera. Estas estruturas rúpteis conferem as maiores profundidades à região da bacia anelar e promovem constricção dos sedimentos com tensão horizontal radial. A observação e interpretação destas deformações permitem caracterizar Araguainha como uma estrutura de impacto de domínio rúptil-dúctil. / Araguainha is the largest and the best-exposed complex crater of South America, formed in horizontal sediments of the Paraná Basin. Its portentous structure with 40 km in diameter and 25 km of transient cavity reveals a negative contrast of density and magnetic susceptibility in the central uplift. That feature allows to infer a limit of physical property between the uplifted central core and the uplifted granite basement, which shows a low Konigsberger?s ratio. The geophysical characterization of Araguainha is sustained by 2,5D modeling with gravity, aeromagnetic, and ground magnetic information and It allows to classify it as a concentric, symmetrical structure, with average basement depth of 1.0 km, except in the southern rim, that shows a bigger uplift. The basement/sediment interface is cut by specular pairs of radial faults that appears in the modification stage of the crater. These brittle structures are responsible for the biggest depths in the annular basin region, and they promote a sediment constriction with horizontal radial tension. The observation and interpretation of these deformations allow to characterize Araguainha as an impact brittle-ductile domain structure.

Cette thèse consiste en l’étude expérimentale de l’érosion d’un milieu granulaire horizontal par un jet vertical. Dans un premier temps, nous étudions finement le seuil d’érosion. L’injecteur est placé à une distance donnée de l’empilement, et la vitesse débitante du jet est progressivement augmentée jusqu’à l’observation du déplacement des premiers grains à la surface du sédiment. La variation de la distance pour la mesure du seuil conduit le jet à passer par différents régimes d’écoulement, notamment laminaire et turbulent. Une analyse est menée à partir des modèles auto-similaires des jets en régimes laminaire et turbulent, qui prévoient une décroissance de la vitesse axiale en fonction de la distance au point source de l’écoulement appelé origine virtuelle. Il est alors possible d’estimer la vitesse locale au niveau de l’empilement, ce qui permet de montrer que le mécanisme local d’érosion décrit par le nombre de Shields est inertiel et indépendant du régime du jet. Dans un second temps, nous menons une étude sur la morphologie des cratères formés au-delà du seuil d’érosion. A nombre de Shields inertiel croissant, le cratère passe d’une forme entièrement parabolique à une forme plus complexe, composée d’une partie parabolique invariante à l’aplomb du jet et d’une couronne avalancheuse de pente constante sur les flancs. Nous montrons que l’épaisseur de l’empilement n’a pas d’influence sur les caractéristiques des cratères tant que le jet n’atteint pas le support. Lorsque c’est le cas, nous observons alors une troisième forme de cratère composée d’une région centrale sans grains et conservant une partie avalancheuse sur les flancs, raccordée au support par une petite zone parabolique. Nous montrons enfin que les caractéristiques du cratère sont contrôlées par la distance jet-empilement et qu’il est nécessaire de tenir compte de l’écart du nombre de Shields à sa valeur seuil dans cette analyse en fonction de la distance. / The present thesis consists in the experimental study of the erosion of a horizontal granular bed by a vertical jet. In a first part we study in details the erosion threshold. With the injector fixed at a given distance from the granular surface, the mean jet velocity is gradually increased until the displacement of first grains at the bed surface. Depending on the jet-bed distance, different jet flow regimes are observed, from laminar to turbulent. Using self-similar jet models in either laminar or turbulent regimes, which predict the axial velocity decay as a function of the distance from a flow point source called virtual origin, the local velocity at the bed position is estimated, allowing us to show that the local erosion mechanism described by the Shields number is inertial and independent of the jet regime. In a second part, we study the shape of craters formed above erosion threshold. Increasing the Shields number, the crater goes from a shape entirely parabolic to a more complex one with an invariant parabolic region close to the jet axis and a constant avalanching slope further on the side. We show that the bed thickness has no influence on the crater characteristics as long as the jet does not reach the bottom wall. When it does, we observe a third shape for the crater composed of a central flat region without any grains connected to the avalanching crown on the side by a small parabolic crown. We show the crater characteristics are governed by the jet-bed distance and that it is necessary to take into account the difference between the Shields number and its threshold value in this distance analysis.

Les météoroïdes, issus de petits corps du système solaire produisent des phénomènes lumineux (flashs d'impact) lorsqu'ils percutent le sol de la Lune. Ces événements lumineux transitoires sont observables depuis le sol en utilisant des télescopes de taille moyenne (typiquement > 200 mm de diamètre) à l'aide des caméras CCD rapides de haute sensibilité. Dans cette thèse, nous décrivons la configuration instrumentale, la procédure d'observation et d'analyse qui a été implémentée à l'Observatoire Universitaire de l'Oukaimden pour l'observation régulière des flashs lunaires. Les premiers impacts lunaires observés et confirmés depuis un observatoire situé en Afrique et dans le monde arabe sont analysés dans ce manuscrit. Nous discutons les caractéristiques de cinq flashs et les paramètres physiques attribués aux impacteurs associés. Nous présentons une première estimation du flux d'impact à l'issue de cette phase de surveillance des impacts lunaires depuis nos observatoires. Nous présentons également le développement et le test d'une stratégie pour déterminer avec précision les coordonnées des impacts observés depuis la Terre. Cette précision de séléno-localisation pourra être utilisée au profit de futures missions sismologiques qui utiliseront les impacts météoritiques pour explorer l'intérieur lunaire. / Meteoroids, coming from small bodies of the solar system, produce luminous phenomena (impact flashes) when they strike the lunar surface. These transient light events are observable from the ground using medium-sized telescopes (typically> 200 mm in diameter) by using high-speed CCD cameras. In this thesis, we describe the instrumental configuration, observation and analysis procedure that was implemented at the Oukaimden Observatory for regular observation of lunar flashes. The first lunar impacts observed and confirmed from an observatory located in Africa and the Arab world are analyzed in this manuscript. We discuss the characteristics of five flashes and the physical parameters attributed to the associated impactors. We present an initial estimate of the impact flux from this first phase of monitoring lunar impacts from our observatories. We also present the development and testing of a strategy to accurately determine the coordinates of impacts observed from Earth. This precision of seleno-localization can be used for future seismological missions that will use meteoroid impacts to explore the lunar interior.

Abstract Crater counting is a method which allows us to estimate the surface ages of the planetary bodies, from which the sampling and sample delivery to laboratories on Earth are difficult or impossible. Because the number of craters on a surface unit increases over the time the surface has been exposed to space, old, geologically stable units have more craters than young and active units. When the crater production rate as a function of time is known, the absolute age of the surface unit can be determined based on its crater density. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the role of small impact craters in crater counts to find out how modern very high-resolution space images can be utilized in age determination of planetary surfaces. The thesis focuses on how reliable crater count based datings are, if only small craters and counting areas are used in age determination. The research is carried out by utilizing crater counts on the outflow channels of Dao, Niger, Harmakhis and Reull Valles, which all are located in the eastern rim region of the Hellas impact basin, on the southern hemisphere of Mars. Crater counts are performed mainly based on the images of ConTeXt Imager (CTX) and High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) aboard Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The results show that small craters are a very valuable tool to get information about the surface age. Instead of the size-range of counted craters, or the size of counting areas, results are dependent on the variability and scale of the surface modification history. The more variable or larger scale the modification history is, the larger surface area and wider crater diameter range are typically needed to achieve comprehensive age estimations. The crater counts on the eastern Hellas outflow channels support the earlier theories according to which the valles formed during a relatively short time interval, ~ 3.4–3.7 Ga ago. The existence of terrace structures and smaller tributary channels indicate that the outflow channels were filled by several pulses of liquids. The major fluvial activity ended no later than ~ 0.8–1.9 Ga ago, and it was probably controlled by the activity of nearby highland volcanoes. Soon after the declined fluvial activity, the outflow channels were covered by ice-rich deposits. The major reason for this was probably the changed climatic conditions, although in places e.g. impact cratering seems to have contributed to the emplacement of the deposits. The region as a whole was also resurfaced several times because of changes in local climate conditions. The most significant of the resurfacing processes seem to be the episodes of thin ice-rich mantling deposits, the most recent of which dominated the regional modification less than 10 Ma ago. In addition, the region has experienced eolian activity during the last 1 Ma. / Original papers The original publications are not included in the electronic version of the dissertation. Kostama, V.-P., Kukkonen, S., &amp; Raitala, J. (2017). Resurfacing event observed in Morpheos basin (Eridania Planitia) and the implications to the formation and timing of Waikato and Reull Valles, Mars. Planetary and Space Science, 140, 35–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2017.04.001 Kukkonen, S., &amp; Kostama, V.-P. (2018). Modification history of the Harmakhis Vallis outflow channel, Mars, based on CTX-scale photogeologic mapping and crater count dating. Icarus, 299, 46–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2017.07.014 Kukkonen, S., &amp; Kostama, V.-P. (2018). Usability of small impact craters on small surface areas in crater count dating: Analysing examples from the Harmakhis Vallis outflow channel, Mars. Icarus, 305, 33–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2018.01.004 Kukkonen, S., &amp; Kostama, V.-P. (2018). Mapping and dating based evolution studies of the Niger Vallis outflow channel, Mars. Planetary and Space Science, 153, 54–71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2017.12.012 Korteniemi, J., &amp; Kukkonen, S. (2018). Volcanic Structures Within Niger and Dao Valles, Mars, and Implications for Outflow Channel Evolution and Hellas Basin Rim Development. Geophysical Research Letters, 45(7), 2934–2944. https://doi.org/10.1002/2018gl077067 http://jultika.oulu.fi/Record/nbnfi-fe201902226008

The West Crater-Soda Peaks area covering about 100 km is located 35 km southeast of Mount St. Helens in southern Washington State. It is one of several Quaternary monogenetic High Cascade volcanic centers overlying the Ohaaapecosh Formation of the Western Cascade Group and interstratified glacial till.These volcanic centers are the most westerly of the range.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 1978. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the World Wide Web.

In the Middle to Late Ordovician a boost of marine biodiversity occurred which is regarded as the most rapid diversity in Earth’s history, and termed the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event. This time is also unique in that at least four marine meteorite craters with a good record of post-impact sediments are preserved in Baltoscandia. Catastrophic impacts can serve as constructive events and produce wide-ranging environments providing new ecological niches for a diverse biota to occupy. Additionally, they generate distinctive patterns of biological destruction and recovery. This, and the study of distribution and ecospace utilisation of Late Ordovician faunas, has been analysed in two almost contemporary (around 455 million years ago) meteorite craters (Lockne and Tvären, Sweden). Within the confined space of the impact craters environments varied from shallow and reef-like to over 200 m in depth and from well oxygenated to hypoxic. These types of environments favored colonization of different individual groups. In Tvären rhynchonelliformean brachiopod assemblages from the shallow crater rim include a range of morphotypes, not established elsewhere in the crater. Within the crater depression rhynchonelliformean brachiopods were not established until the upper third of the remaining crater fill. Colonization of post-impact faunas varies dependent on topography, depth and susbstrate within the impact craters. This is recognised for scolecodonts in Tvären and for gastropod-like mollusks, linguliform and craniiform brachiopods in both of the craters, as they inhabit a wide range of ecospace. A succession of different taxa is observed from the deepest part of each crater and upwards towards inferably more shallow, higher energy, water settings. The development of new community types and narrowly-defined niches in the craters helped further drive both α and β biodiversity during a critical phase of the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event.