KILAUEA PIT CRATERS AS MARS ANALOGS: A New Direction for Cave-detection

Introduction: Detecting most of the caves that are likely to exist on Mars is difficult because their entrances must face skyward and be wide enough (>100 m) to be confirmed by THEMIS thermal-infrared observations [1]. Here we discuss the possibility of using THEMIS data to indirectly detect cave entrances that may exist in a small number of anomalous Martian pit craters. First identified in Kilauea volcano’s rift zones and named as such by Wilkes (1845), pit craters are circular, elliptical or trough-shaped depressions that result from the collapse of surface-layer materials into large subsurface void spaces [2,3]. By their lack of elevated rims, ejecta patterns, or associated lava channels, these pits are both visibly and morphologically distinct from impact craters or effusive volcanic vents (Figs. 1 & 2).