Spectrophotometric Modeling and Mapping of Young Geological Features on Ceres

NOTE: The original PI of this project was Jian-Yang Li. On May 30, 2024, the PI was changed to Xiao-Duan Zou, when Li joined the faculty of Sun Yat-sen University in China.

The recent results from the Dawn mission suggested that Ceres is an aqueously altered cryovolcanic world, maybe an Ocean World that is similar to some outer solar system icy satellites in geology, geophysics, geochemistry, and mineralogy. Three geologically young features, namely Occator crater (and the Cerealia and Vinalia faculae inside it), Ahuna Mons, and Haulani crater, are identified to have high scientific values to understanding endogenic processes, such as cryovolcanism on Ceres. They all preserve the cryovolcanic and impact signatures, host several types of ice-related landforms, and have good data coverage and the highest resolution Dawn images. In this proposal we propose to characterize the spectral light-scattering properties of those three regions, aiming to better understanding the cryovolcanic, cryomagmatic, and diapiric processes on Ceres.

KEY QUESTIONS: The relevant questions we plan to address with the proposed investigation are: 1. How does spectral
light scattering properties relate to the physical properties of putative cryovolcanic regions and average Ceres? 2. How do spectrophotometrically distinct geologic units relate to putative cryovolcanic or cryomagmatic features or other processes/landforms? 3. What is the nature of the peculiar light scattering properties of Cerealia Facula?

OBJECTIVES: We will focus on the three regions mentioned above with two objectives: 1. To derive regional photometric properties and map out the spectrophotometric parameters through spectrophotometric modeling and mapping. 2. To identify potential cryovolcanic features and constrain geologic processes on Ceres.

METHODS/TASKS: The data analysis process will mostly follow the recent work by PI Li and his colleagues in similar spectrophotometric modeling and mapping efforts for the global properties of Vesta, Ceres using Dawn imaging data and of Bennu using OSIRIS-REx spectral data. We propose three tasks: Task 1. Data injection and processing; Task 2. Spectrophotometric modeling and mapping; Task 3. Synthesis and interpretation, which will include the connection of photometric mapping to geologic processes. Through our research, we expect to derive information about the compositional and physical properties of all ice-related morphological features on Ceres in the three study regions, and their connection to cryomagmatic and other processes, and to constrain the properties of cryomagmatic and cryovolcanic processes on Ceres.

Our proposal team consists of highly experienced and qualified members to perform the proposed research, with expertise on spectrophotometric modeling, planetary geology, and cryovolcanism, as well as experts of the Dawn mission and the camera instrument. By including team members who have never worked on Dawn data but possesses critical relevant expertise, the proposed research continues the Dawn data analysis activities to study Ceres and expands it in a direction of profound scientific potential.