Cratering and cosmogenic nuclides

Abstract

A simple probabilistic model was constructed for the average value of a cosmogenic nuclide as a function of depth in a regolith. An arbitrary function was chosen for the size distribution of craters. The resulting integro-differential equation was found to reduce in limiting cases to the marching equation with a characteristic residence time and to the diffusion equation. The regolith diffusion constant is shown to be a simple integral of the cratering rate weighted by geometrical terms. This formal treatment provides a direct and general connection between cosmogenic nuclides and cratering rates and crater population in a simple analytical form. The validity of this model remains to be tested.