Scopulus

In planetary geology, scopulus (pl. scopuli) is the term used to describe a lobate or irregular escarpment.[1] The word is from the Latin meaning a crag, cliff, or a rock at sea.[2] The word is derived from the Greek σκόπελος, which means prominatory, peak, or headland. The word can also mean a look-out place as indicated by its root σκόπε- (scope)--to view or look.[3] In the early 1970s, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) adopted scopulus as one of a number of official descriptor terms for topographic features on Mars and other planets and satellites.[4] One justification for using neutral Latin or Greek descriptors was that it allowed features to be named and described before their geology or geomorphology could be determined.[5] Currently, the IAU recognizes 54 descriptor terms. (See Planetary nomenclature.) Thirteen features with the descriptor term scopulus are present on Mars.

References

  1. ^ Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/DescriptorTerms.
  2. ^ Simpson, D.P. (1968). Cassell's New Latin Dictionary; Funk & Wagnalls: New York, p. 539.
  3. ^ Liddell and Scott (1975). An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon; Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK, p. 735.
  4. ^ Greeley, R. (1994) Planetary Landscapes, 2nd ed.; Chapman & Hall: New York, pp. 35-36.
  5. ^ Russell, J.F.; Snyder, C.W.; Kieffer, H.H. (1992). Origin and Use of Martian Nomenclature in Mars, H.H. Kieffer et al., Eds.; University of Arizona Press: Tucson, AZ, p. 1310.