DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17623743
title: Inventory and morphometric parameters of landslides associated with nearby impact craters on Ceres

description: This dataset includes a curated inventory of eight landslides on the dwarf planet Ceres, mapped and measured to enable reproducible morphometric analyses. The inventory was produced through detailed visual interpretation of the high-resolution global mosaic acquired by the Framing Camera on board NASA’s Dawn spacecraft during the Low Altitude Mapping Orbit (LAMO) phase (Roatsch et al., 2017). Altimetric data were derived from the high-resolution global shape model of Ceres produced by Park et al. (2019) using the stereo-photoclinometry technique developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and based on Dawn’s Framing Camera imagery. The processed images reach a spatial resolution of up to 35 m px⁻¹, while the global shape model was generated with a grid spacing of 100 m and a mean height uncertainty of 10.2 m, referenced to the mean ellipsoid (−7.3 km to +9.5 km).

All features correspond to landslides previously reported in global catalogs for Ceres (e.g., Schmidt et al., 2017; Chilton et al., 2019; Duarte et al., 2019; Parekh et al., 2021), here re-mapped with a consistent scheme. Following widely used classifications (Varnes, 1978; Hungr et al., 2014), each case is assigned to slides, flows, or complex movements on the basis of dominant kinematics. 

The dataset is intended to support comparative studies of mass wasting on Ceres, providing harmonized morphometry and provenance for each mapped landform. Potential applications include benchmarking runout and mobility, investigating links with nearby impact craters, and cross-body comparisons of ice-rich crustal behavior across the Solar System.

References

Chilton, H. T., B. E. Schmidt, K. Duarte, K. L. Ferrier, K. H. G. Hughson, J. E. C. Scully, J. J. Wray, et al. 2019. Landslides on Ceres: Inferences Into Ice Content and Layering in the Upper Crust. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets 124: 1512–1524.

Duarte, K. D., B. E. Schmidt, H. T. Chilton, K. H. G. Hughson, H. G. Sizemore, K. L. Ferrier, J. J. Buffo, et al. 2019. Landslides on Ceres: Diversity and Geologic Context. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets 124: 3329–3343.

Hungr, O., S. Leroueil, and L. Picarelli. 2014. The Varnes classification of landslide types, an update. Landslides 11: 167–194.

Parekh, R., K. A. Otto, R. Jaumann, K. D. Matz, T. Roatsch, E. Kersten, S. Elgner, and C. Raymond. 2021. Influence of Volatiles on Mass Wasting Processes on Vesta and Ceres. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets 126.

Park, R. S., A. T. Vaughan, A. S. Konopliv, A. I. Ermakov, N. Mastrodemos, J. C. Castillo-Rogez, S. P. Joy, et al. 2019. High-resolution shape model of Ceres from stereophotoclinometry using Dawn Imaging Data. Icarus 319: 812–827.

Roatsch, Th., E. Kersten, K.-D. Matz, F. Preusker, F. Scholten, R. Jaumann, C. A. Raymond, and C. T. Russell. 2017. High-resolution Ceres Low Altitude Mapping Orbit Atlas derived from Dawn Framing Camera images. Planetary and Space Science 140: 74–79.

Schmidt, B. E., K. H. G. Hughson, H. T. Chilton, J. E. C. Scully, T. Platz, A. Nathues, H. Sizemore, et al. 2017. Geomorphological evidence for ground ice on dwarf planet Ceres. Nature Geoscience 10: 338–343.

Varnes, D. J. 1978. Slope movement types and processes. In ‘Landslides: analysis and control’.(Eds RL Schuster, RJ Krizek) pp. 12–33. Transportation Research Board, National Research Council: Washington, DC.