The Ac-5 (Fejokoo) quadrangle of Ceres: Geologic map and geomorphological evidence for ground ice mediated surface processes

Abstract

NASA's Dawn spacecraft arrived at Ceres on March 6, 2015, and has been studying the dwarf planet through a series of successively lower orbits. Throughout these mission phases Dawn obtained photographic, mineralogical, elemental abundance, and gravity data. Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt with a mean diameter of ∼940 km. The Dawn Science Team conducted a geologic mapping campaign for Ceres similar to the one that was implemented on the asteroid Vesta (Dawn's previous target), including production of a Survey- and High Altitude Mapping Orbit (HAMO)-based global map, and a series of 15 Low Altitude Mapping Orbit (LAMO)-based quadrangle maps. In this paper we present the LAMO-based geologic map of the Ac-5 Fejokoo Quadrangle (21–66°N and 270–360°E) and discuss its implications. The Ac-5 quadrangle is primarily composed of ancient cratered terrain punctuated with several moderately fresh impact craters of geologic interest, six large tholi that are possibly cryovolcanic in origin, and an abundance of flows that well represent the full spectrum of mass wasting features observed on Ceres. The Fejokoo quadrangle hosts the majority of Oxo crater, the site of the first spectroscopic detection of H2O ice on the surface of Ceres. The H2O detection is closely related to two distinctive morphological units interpreted as possible high water ice content landslides. These observations and interpretations are consistent with ground ice mediated surface processes on Ceres.