Mercury Global Crater Database

The database can be found at the following links:
Office 2007 Excel spreadsheet
Comma-delimited text file

And here is a README file description in a couple of formats:
Word 2007 document
README as a text file

My students and I compiled the database using images from Mariner 10 and the MESSENGER flybys (before MESSENGER went into orbit). If the database is used for research leading to a publication, the proper reference for the database is the following:

Herrick, R. R., Curran, L. L., and Baer, A. T. (2011) A Mariner/MESSENGER global catalog of mercurian craters, Icarus, doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2011.06.021. URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019103511002387

That article discusses initial results from the database and, more importantly for future users, some of the inadequacies of the database. Center latitude and longitude are given in degrees North and East based on the post-flyby combined Mariner/MESSENGER mosaic that was released and posted to USGS’s Map-a-Planet web site. In areas of particularly poor lighting conditions, many craters were undoubtedly missed. Otherwise, the latitude-longitude-diameter information can be considered reliable. Craters were identified by fitting a circle to the crater, which then yields the crater diameter. Because the goal was to create a comprehensive database of craters with diameter > 10 km, in practice craters smaller than this diameter were identified and have been included. Each crater was assigned a unique arbitrary id number (id). The “name” column contains IAU-approved names as of May, 2011. http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/ The other columns, providing morphological descriptions, are much less reliable. Between varying image resolution, varying lighting conditions, and three different people compiling the database, the morphological descriptions should best be considered as loose indicators to be used as guides for more detailed investigations. With that caveat in mind, the morphology descriptors are:

Interior shape (int_shp):

b, bowl-shaped

sh, slump hummocks in a still mostly curved floor

ff, flat-floored

x, undefined - poorly imaged

Rim shape (rim_shp):

c, circular - no modification

sc, scalloped

t, full terraced

x, undefined - poorly imaged

Central structure (cent_struc):

cp, central peak

mp, multiple interior peaks

pi, central pit

pr, peak ring

mr, multi-ringed basin

n, no central structure

x, undefined - poorly imaged

Ejecta rays associated with the crater (rayed):

yes (y)

no (n)