LU6M371TGT: A Global Lunar Crater Catalog derived by the multimodal YOLOLens network and enhanced with Morphometric Parameters

This repository hosts the LU6M371TGT lunar crater catalog, generated through a revised version of the YOLOLens model. By integrating visible imagery and elevation data (LOLA-derived DTMs), the model significantly enhances crater detection performance, particularly in regions with challenging illumination conditions such as the Permanent Shadow Regions (PSRs) at the lunar poles.Detailed information on the model architecture and methodology can be found in relevant publications on (see point 3 for the last LU6M371TGT catalog):La Grassa, Riccardo, et al. "YOLOLens: A deep learning model based on super-resolution to enhance the crater detection of the planetary surfaces." Remote Sensing 15.5 (2023): 1171, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15051171.La Grassa, R, et al. "LU5M812TGT: An AI-Powered global database of impact craters ≥0.4 km on the Moon", ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 2025, ISSN 0924-2716, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2024.11.010.La Grassa, R, et al. "From the Moon to Mercury: Release of Global Crater Catalogs using Multimodal Deep Learning for Crater Detection and Morphometric Analysis", Remote Sens. 2025, 17, 3287. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17193287The catalog contains 6,371,337 craters, spanning diameters from 0.3 km to 109 km, and provides the following variables for each entry:Longitude, Latitude – crater center coordinates in decimal degrees.Diameter W, H – horizontal and vertical bounding box dimensions (km).Confidence – model-assigned certainty score of crater identification.Morphometric parameters – depth estimates, rim elevations, and depth-to-diameter ratios derived from global DTMs.Morphometric Extraction:To enrich the AI-derived catalog with quantitative geomorphological measures, crater morphometry was extracted using a neighborhood-based sampling approach on high-resolution global DTMs. For each crater predicted, elevation profiles were computed by defining a spatial window proportional to the crater’s diameter, thereby minimizing bounding box misalignment. Key metrics include:Central depth – minimum elevation within the crater neighborhood.Rim peak elevations – maximum elevation values around crater rims.Differential rim-to-center depths – elevation difference between crater center and rim.Depth-to-diameter ratio – normalized depth as a function of average crater diameter.Benchmarking and Validation:The LU6M371TGT catalog was validated against established lunar crater datasets, including the Robbins Ground-Truth catalog and the previous LU5M812TGT catalog. The revised YOLOLens achieved substantial recall improvements, nearly doubling performance in polar regions. Manual validation by expert operators confirmed a low false-positive rate and robust generalization across diverse lunar terrains.Key Features:Global coverage of the Moon at high resolution.Improved crater detection in shaded and PSR-affected areas.Multimodal integration of WAC imagery and LOLA elevation data.Confidence-based filtering for customizable analysis.Enrichment with morphometric parameters for geomorphological research.Applications:This dataset supports studies in lunar surface characterization, planetary geology, impact chronology, and mission planning. Its emphasis on polar regions provides valuable insights for future exploration activities, particularly in areas of interest for resource prospecting.