Abstract Impact‐induced geological structures are commonly distributed around lunar multi‐ring basins, typically appearing as ring and radial topographic features in imagery. While some of these structures are exposed at the lunar surface, others remain buried and require detection. Gravity data provides critical insights into the accurate identification of these features, advancing our understanding of impact cratering mechanics and the lunar interior structure. In this study, we proposed a novel method to enhance the identification of ring and radial geological structures around multi‐ring basins. We introduced the Strike Response Factor (SRF) as the characteristic signal, which is calculated from horizontal gravity gradient components in a rotated reference coordinate system. Based on the SRF, we utilized the K ‐means clustering algorithm to search for potential impact‐induced geological structures in maximum principal horizontal second derivative maps. We applied this method to the forward‐modeled data and the observed data of the lunar Orientale Basin. Validation results confirm the effective identification of ring and radial impact‐induced features. Moreover, the method reveals previously undiscovered ring features through its enhanced sensitivity to subtle gravity signals. The gravity gradient method effectively detects weak gravitational signals from small‐scale impact structures, including potential ring faults, dikes, radial fractures, and ejecta ridges. This approach offers a valuable tool for enhancing our understanding of impact processes and the internal architecture of lunar multi‐ring basins.
Fu et al. (Fri,) studied this question.