Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms

Book excerpt: This revised and updated second edition provides a complete snapshot of our current knowledge on the geological features on solid-surface Solar System bodies. They extend over a wide range of scales, from micrometers to global scales, and include landform types (structural or topographic features), parts of landforms, terrain types and surface textures, surface patterns, and features identified at wavelengths extending from visible to radio waves, including albedo features, thermal infrared features, and radar features. The extensive new content addresses findings from the Messenger, Cassini, New Horizons, Curiosity and Maven missions and provides information on at least ten new landform types, as well as articles on exoplanet landforms. Refinements in methods and formations theories are also covered. Today scientists have a huge set of images and other physical data which makes it possible to create models on the inner structure and thermal history of planetary bodies. Combined data sets lead to better supported models on the formation of surface features. These models give reliable explanations for the origin of planetary landforms. New, higher resolution images reveal new sets of meso- and microscale landforms, while images from previously not imaged dwarf planets, satellites, asteroids and cometary nuclei show landforms never seen before. In the future exoplanets are expected to continue to provide brand new types of relief features not predictable by our Earth-and Solar System bound imagination. There are so many different landforms on planetary surfaces that it is nearly impossible for anybody to overview all of them who does not work exactly with that certain feature type. The Encyclopedia helps with presenting the landforms in searchable, alphabetical order. The book contains more than a simple list of various features: it provides context and connections between them and point to their origin. For example sand dunes were found on Venus, Mars and Titan, fluvial valleys and shorelines are present on Mars and Titan, impact craters have many different types - all are presented and explained here. Beyond the texts, references, schematic figures, images and planetary maps accompany the description of landforms, providing a wide background for detailed analyses even for geomorphologists working in planetary science. This book helps the reader discover the great variety of planetary landforms. Its continual updating makes it the go-to reference in the field.