Investigating the effects of target heterogeneity on the cratering process.

Pre-existing target structures are known to influence the dynamics and morphologies of many terrestrial and planetary impact craters. Good examples include the Chesapeake and Ries craters, which both possess an inverted sombrero structure as a result of a weaker sedimentary surface layer overlying a stronger crystalline basement. But beyond such horizontal layering, closer analyses of the subsurface geology present in these and other planetary craters indicate that vertical heterogeneity in the strength and geochemistry of a target are also often present. These may influence the formation and subsequent modification of terrestrial craters. Evidence indicates that at Meteor crater, for example, pre-existing vertical jointing of the target gives this crater its square appearance, either by confining and re-directing the shock and subsequent rarefraction waves, or by allowing preferential weathering zones of weakness along the joints. In this study, we present a series of laboratory investigations and 2- and 3-dimensional numerical calculations of crater formation in a conceptually simple but physically complex target: a box of randomly distributed quartz spheres of identical size. These investigations provide constraints on how all types of target heterogeneity influence the cratering process. In both the laboratory and numerical studies, we measure the rate of crater growth, the transient crater shape, and in some instances the velocity of individual ejecta. These investigations vary the ratio of the impact shock thickness to target grain size by altering the impact velocity, projectile size, and target grain size. The laboratory data were collected at the NASA Ames vertical gun range, the NASA Johnson Space Center vertical gun range, and the University of Tokyo vertical gun range using non-intrusive diagonistic techniques. The numerical investigations were performed using the CTH hydrocode that solves the equations of motion, while conserving mass, energy, and momentum using a second order multi-material Eulerian methodology. This code possesses an adaptive mesh refinement that allows investigating the effects of fine-scale target heterogeneity on the cratering process, through the use of a simple microscopic model with complex but resolvable heterogeneous geometries, rather than a complex macroscopic model. Both approaches provide insights on how the thickness of the shock front relative to the average dimension of any pre-exiting structure could be a controlling factor during impact cratering.