Lava filling history of the herodotus crater on the aristarchus plateau: Insights from remote sensing observations

The Aristarchus Plateau region's volcanic evolution has important implications for understanding the global history of the crustal and mantle development of the Moon. Herodotus is an Imbrian-age impact crater located on the Aristarchus Plateau, with an inclined crater floor and elevation difference of 300 m. However, the timing and emplacement scenarios by which the lava flows formed and filled the inclined crater floor remain unknown. In this paper, remote sensing images and topographic profiles are used to analyze the emplacement time and lava flow-filling scenarios for Herodotus crater. The lava flows may have begun to fill Herodotus crater at 3.7 Ga and no later than Eratosthenian. Multiple volume-limited lava flows and pre-eruption topography are two possible scenarios for the formation of the inclined crater floor. Analysis of the morphology of the inclined crater floor provides key information about lunar volcanic processes in the Aristarchus Plateau.