Zoom Meeting ID: 96738249031
Multiring basins dominate the stratigraphy, tectonics, and crustal structure of the Moon. Large impacts likely dominated the evolution of all ancient planetary crusts. Despite their important role, the formation of multiring basins and their concentric topographic rings is poorly understood. In this talk I will present simulations of the formation of lunar multiring basins that directly resolve ring formation and reproduce basin gravity signatures. We find that the resultant basin structure is sensitive to impactor size and thermomechanical state of the target interior. Simulations of the formation of Venusian multiring basins imply relatively low lithospheric thermal gradients and imply Venus is not in a mobile lid convection regime. We also discuss how formation of Valhalla-class multiring basins on ocean worlds may provide insight into the thickness of the icy shells they form in.