P. Mahanti^a, M.S. Robinson^a, D.C. Humm^b, J.D. Stopar^a

^aSchool of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
^bSpace Instrument Calibration Consulting, Annapolis, Maryland, USA

Historically, topographic profiles provided a quantitative means to investigate the morphology and formation processes for impact craters, although no generic mathematical framework was developed to reduce profiles to morphology descriptors. Only need-specific polynomial expressions were utilized in previous studies, thus no standardized automated comparison of craters exists. We employ a Chebyshev polynomial function approximation to describe crater forms in a quantitative and repeatable manner. We show that the Chebyshev polynomials return coefficients that are relatable to crater morphologic characteristics, thus providing a standardized mathematical means for describing crater forms.

Reference
Mahanti P, Robinson MS, Humm DC and Stopar JD (2014) A standardized approach for quantitative characterization of impact crater topography. Icarus
[doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2014.06.023]
Copyright Elsevier

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