Urey Fellow

E-mail: [email protected]
Lunar and Planetary Institute
3600 Bay Area Blvd.,
Houston, Texas 77058

Recent and Completed Research Projects:

  • Chemical and climatic effects of impact cratering, particularly the Late Heavy Bombardment, on early Mars
  • Thermal effects of the Late Heavy Bombardment (with emphasis on habitability) on Earth and Moon
  • Analysis of heat emission from Enceladus' south polar fractures, using Cassini CIRS data and computer modeling
  • Data analysis from the New Horizons Jupiter fly-by
  • Modeling of hypothetical thermal features on Europa
  • Modeling of impact-generated hydrothermal systems
  • Identification of hydrothermal features in martian impact craters
  • Chesapeake Bay crater drilling
  • Interpolation of Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data

Memberships & Awards:

Spacecraft involvement:

Recent References:

Peer-reviewed papers:

Abramov, O., S.M. Wong, and D.A. Kring, Differential Melt Scaling for Oblique Impacts on the Earth, Moon, and Mars, Meteor. Planet. Sci., submitted, 2011.

Schwenzer, S.P., O. Abramov, C.C. Allen, S. Clifford, J. Filiberto, D.A. Kring, J. Lasue, P.J. McGovern, H. E. Newsom, A. H. Treiman, D. T. Vaniman, R. C. Wiens, A. Wittmann, A Case Study of Gale Crater: Developing an Exploration Strategy for Targeting Noachian Impact Craters to Study Impact Processes and Potential Habitats for Life, Icarus, in revisions, 2011.

Abramov, O. and S.J. Mojzsis, Abodes for life in carbonaceous asteroids?, Icarus, 213, 273-279, 2011.

Fairen, A. G., V. Chevrier, O. Abramov, G. A. Marzo, P. Gavin, A. F. Davila, L. L. Tornabene, J. L. Bishop, T. L. Roush, C. Gross, T. Kneissl, E. R. Uceda, J. M. Dohm, D. Schulze -Makuch, J. A. P. Rodriguez, R. Amils and C. P. McKay, Noachian and more recent phyllosilicates in impact craters on Mars, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., 107, 12095-12100, 2010.

Abramov, O., and S.J. Mojzsis, Microbial habitability of the Hadean Earth during the late heavy bombardment, Nature, 459, 419-422, 2009.

Abramov, O. and J.R. Spencer, Endogenic heat from Enceladus' south polar fractures: New observations, and models of conductive surface heating, Icarus, 199, 189-196, 2009.

Abramov, O. and J.R. Spencer, Numerical modeling of endogenic thermal anomalies on Europa, Icarus, 195, 378-385, 2008.

Spencer, J.R., S.A. Stern, A.F. Cheng, H.A. Weaver, D.C. Reuter, K. Retherford, A. Lunsford, J.M. Moore, O. Abramov, R.M.C. Lopes, J.E. Perry, L. Kamp, M. Showalter, K.L. Jessup, F. Marchis, P.M. Schenk, and C. Dumas, Io Volcanism Seen by New Horizons: A Major Eruption of the Tvashtar Volcano, Science, 318, 240-243, 2007.

Abramov, O., and D.A. Kring, Numerical modeling of impact-induced hydrothermal activity at the Chicxulub crater, Meteor. Planet. Sci., 42, 93-112, 2007.

Abramov, O., and D.A. Kring, Impact-induced hydrothermal activity on early Mars, J. Geophys. Res., 110, E12S09, doi:10.1029/2005JE002453, 2005.

Abramov, O., and D.A. Kring, Numerical modeling of an impact-induced hydrothermal system at the Sudbury crater, J. Geophys. Res., 109, E10007, doi:10.1029/2003JE002213, 2004.

Abramov, O., and A.S. McEwen, An evaluation of interpolation methods for MOLA data, Int. J. Rem. Sens., 25(3), 669-676, 2004.


Conference abstracts:

Abramov, O., D. A. Kring, and S. J. Mojzsis, Modeling of impact-induced age resetting and partial Pb-loss in zircon grains, Lunar Planet. Sci. XXXXII, abstract 2674, 2011.

Schwenzer, S.P., and O. Abramov, Impact-generated hydrothermal systems on Noachian Mars: Clays, carbonates and more, 2010 AGU Fall Meeting, Abstract P44B-03, San Francisco, CA., 13-17 Dec, 2010.

Schwenzer, S.P., O. Abramov, C.C. Allen, S. Clifford, J. Filiberto, D.A. Kring, J. Lasue, P.J. McGovern, H.E. Newsom, A.H. Treiman, D.T. Vaniman, R.C. Wiens, A. Wittmann, Exploring Martian Impact Craters: Why They are Important for the Search for Life, AbSciCon 2010, abstract 5527, 2010.

Abramov, O., and S.J Mojzsis, Thermal, Physical, and Biological Effects of Impact Bombardments on Noachian Mars, Lunar Planet. Sci. XXXXI, abstract 2402, 2010.

Abramov, O. and S.J. Mojzsis, Simulations of Diffusive Pb-, Ti- and REE-loss in Terrestrial and Lunar Zircon and Apatite as a Function of Impact Heating During Impact Bombardments, Eos Trans. AGU, 90(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract V13C-2040, 2009.

Abramov, O., and S.J Mojzsis, Thermal effects of impacts on the Hadean Earth, Goldschmidt Conference Abstracts, A5, 2009.

Abramov, O., Modeling hydrothermal activity associated with martian impact craters: an overview, Workshop on Modeling Martian Hydrous Environments, abstract 4029, 2009.

Abramov, O., and S.J Mojzsis, Microbial habitability of the Hadean Earth during the Late Heavy Bombardment , Lunar Planet. Sci. XXXX, abstract 2379, 2009.

Abramov, O., and S.J. Mojzsis, Thermal State of the Lithosphere During Late Heavy Bombardment: Implications for Early Life, Eos Trans. AGU, 89(53), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract V11E-08, 2008.

Mojzsis, S.J., O. Abramov, T.M. Harrison, D.A. Kring, H.F. Levison, D. Trail, and E.B. Watson, Exploring for early bombardments on Earth from pre-3.85 Fa thermal effects recorded in Hadean zircons - a status report, Eos Trans. AGU, 89(53), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract V11E-07, 2008.

Abramov, O., and S.J Mojzsis, Thermal State of the Terrestrial Lithosphere During the Late Heavy Bombardment: Implications for Habitability, Early Solar System Impact Bombardment, abstract 3019, 2008.

Mojzsis S.J., O. Abramov, T.M. Harrison, D.A. Kring, H.F. Levison, D. Trail, and E.B. Watson, Exploring for Early Bombardments on Earth from Pre-3.83 Ga Thermal Effects Recorded in Hadean Zircons - A Status Report, Early Solar System Impact Bombardment, abstract 3025, 2008.

Abramov, O., and S.J Mojzsis, Thermal state of the lithosphere during Late Heavy Bombardment , Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 72(12), A2, 2008.

Abramov, O., and S.J Mojzsis, Thermal Modeling of the Terrestrial Lithosphere During the Late Heavy Bombardment , Lunar Planet. Sci. XXXIX, abstract 1036, 2008.

Spencer, J.R., S.A. Stern, K. Retherford, O. Abramov, D. Reuter, A. Cheng, H.A. Weaver, A. Lunsford, J. Moore, J. Perry, R.M. Lopes, L. Kamp, and New Horizons Science Team, New Horizons Observes Io's Volcanic Activity, DPS meeting #39, Bull. Am. Astron. Soc., 39, p. 437, 2007.

Spencer, J.R., S.A. Stern, J. Moore, R.M.C. Lopes, K. Retherford, O. Abramov, M. Showalter, A.F. Cheng, H.A. Weaver, D.C. Reuter, A. Lunsford, C. Olkin, H. Throop, and K.L. Jessup, New Horizons Observations of Io's Volcanism, Workshop on Ices, Oceans, and Fire: Satellites of the Outer Solar System, abstact 6030, LPI Contribution No. 1357, p.134-135, 2007.

Abramov, O., and J.R. Spencer, South Polar Thermal Anomaly on Enceladus: Modeling and Observations, Lunar Planet. Sci. XXXVIII, abstract 2343, 2007.

Abramov, O., and J.R. Spencer, Numerical Modeling of Endogenic Thermal Anomalies on Europa, Eos Trans. AGU, 87(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract P23E-0101, 2006.

Spencer, J.R., J.C. Pearl, M. Segura, O. Abramov, and C.C. Team, Heat Flow From the South Pole of Enceladus: Spatial Distribution and Power Supply, Eos Trans. AGU, 87(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract P22B-05, 2006.

Abramov, O., and D.A. Kring, Numerical modeling of impact-induced hydrothermal activity at the Chicxulub crater, Lunar Planet. Sci. XXXVII, abstract 2102, 2006.

Abramov, O., and D. A. Kring, Impact-induced hydrothermal activity at central-peak and peak-ring craters on early Mars, Workshop on the Role of Volatiles and Atmospheres on Martian Impact Craters, Laurel, Maryland, abstract 3028, 2005.

Abramov, O., and D.A. Kring, Impact-induced hydrothermal activity on early Mars, Lunar Planet. Sci. XXXVI, abstract 1048, 2005.

Abramov, O., and D.A. Kring, Numerical modeling of impact-induced hydrothermal activity on early Mars, 2nd Conf Early Mars, abstract 8062, 2004.

Abramov, O., and D.A. Kring, Impact-generated hydrothermal activity at Gusev crater: Implications for the Spirit mission, Lunar Planet. Sci. XXXV, abstract 1976, 2004.

Abramov, O., and D.A. Kring, Impact-induced hydrothermal system at the Sudbury crater: Duration, temperatures, mechanics, and biological implications, Lunar Planet. Sci. XXXV, abstract 1697, 2004.

Abramov, O., and D.A. Kring, Numerical modeling of the impact-induced hydrothermal system at Sudbury crater, Eos Trans. AGU, 84(46), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract P52A-0477, 2003.

Abramov, O., and D.A. Kring, Finite-difference modeling of impact-induced hydrothermal systems, Lunar Planet. Sci. XXXIV, abstract 1846, 2003.

Abramov, O., Richardson, J., and A.S. McEwen, Altimetry-based analysis of valley systems on Mars, Eos Trans. AGU, 83(47), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract P51B-0361, 2002.

Abramov, O., and A.S. McEwen, An evaluation of interpolation methods for MOLA data, Eos Trans. AGU, 82(47), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract P42A-0567, 2001.


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Last updated
October 4, 2010