craterist

Craterist is a term occasionally used to describe a person who studies, analyzes, or creates craters, especially impact or volcanic craters. It is not a widely standardized professional designation in geology or planetary science. More common terms include craterologist, crater researcher, or specialist in craterology. In practice, a craterist may work within planetary geology, lunar science, geophysics, or volcanology, focusing on crater formation processes, morphology, distribution, and age dating.

In planetary science, craterists may apply crater counting, crater size-frequency distributions, and scaling relationships to infer surface ages and impact histories on planets and moons. In Earth geology, craterists study meteorite impact craters and volcanic craters, along with associated ejecta deposits and crater-related hydrothermal or structural features. Methods include remote sensing, geographic information systems, high-resolution topography from lidar or radar, field mapping, stratigraphic analysis, and petrographic or geochemical studies.

Etymology: craterist derives from crater plus the suffix -ist, modeled on terms such as scientist or linguist. The term is informal and rarely used in formal literature. Related terms include craterologist and astrogeologist or planetary geologist. See also: craterology, impact crater, lunar geology, volcanology.

Usage note: When encountered in sources, craterist generally functions as a loose descriptor rather than a formal occupation, with its exact meaning varying by author. For precise references, craterologist or planetary geologist is recommended.