Mercury’s radius change estimates revisited using MESSENGER data

Achille, G. Di; Popa, C.; Massironi, Matteo; Epifani, E. Mazzotta; Zusi, M.; Cremonese, G.; Palumbo, P.

doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2012.07.005

Cited by 38 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Although these estimates of radius change differ by 1-1.6 km, values obtained by both methods are substantially greater than those from earlier photogeological studies 5,8,11,12 . Previous reports of 0.8-2 km of radial shortening 5,8,11 were derived from analyses of the 45% of Mercury's surface imaged by Mariner 10.…”

Section: Planetary Radius Changecontrasting

confidence: 68%

“…To enable a direct comparison between this work and preceding studies of Mercury's global contraction 8,11,12 , we also used those same 216 structures to define a scaling factor (γ ) between maximum fault displacement (D max ) and fault length (L) for extrapolation to all mapped landforms (following the methodology of ref. 11).…”

Section: Planetary Radius Changementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Determining the extent to which Mercury contracted is key to understanding the planet's thermal, tectonic and volcanic history. Earlier estimates of Mercury's radial contraction since the last major episode of global resurfacing (by impact cratering and/or widespread volcanism 10 ) obtained from photogeological studies of tectonic landforms 5,8,9,11,12 were in the range 0.8-3 km, substantially less than the ∼5-10 km predicted by interior thermal history models [13][14][15] . The key to addressing these outstanding problems is to characterize how contraction is manifest on Mercury through photogeological mapping of the entire planet, in as detailed a manner as current MESSENGER data allow.…”

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confidence: 94%

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Mercury’s global contraction much greater than earlier estimates

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Mercury, a planet with a lithosphere that forms a single tectonic plate, is replete with tectonic structures interpreted to be the result of planetary cooling and contraction. However, the amount of global contraction inferred from spacecraft images has been far lower than that predicted by models of the thermal evolution of the planet's interior. Here we present a synthesis of the global contraction of Mercury from orbital observations acquired by the MESSENGER spacecraft. We show that Mercury's global contraction has been accommodated by a substantially greater number and variety of structures than previously recognized, including long belts of ridges and scarps where the crust has been folded and faulted. The tectonic features on Mercury are consistent with models for large-scale deformation proposed for a globally contracting Earth-now obsolete-that pre-date plate tectonics theory. We find that Mercury has contracted radially by as much as 7 km, well in excess of the 0.8-3 km previously reported from photogeology and resolving the discrepancy with thermal models. Our findings provide a key constraint for studies of Mercury's thermal history, bulk silicate abundances of heat-producing elements, mantle convection and the structure of its large metallic core.G lobal contraction as a result of interior cooling was invoked as an explanation for mountain building and tectonic deformation on Earth in the nineteenth century 1,2 , but the idea was abandoned even before the recognition of the horizontal mobility of tectonic plates 3 , with the realization that contraction cannot account for the amount, style and distribution of deformation on the Earth's surface 4 . Large-scale deformational systems on Earth are localized along plate margins, unlike the quasihomogenous distribution of shortening structures predicted for a contracting planet 3 . However, other worlds in the Solar System do not exhibit plate tectonics today, so the intriguing possibility exists that some of the old concepts of contraction theory for global tectonics, long obsolete for Earth, may be valid for one-plate planets. Mercury, in particular, displays no evidence of plate boundaries that segment its globally continuous lithosphere. Yet observations made by the Mariner 10 and MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft have shown that the innermost planet displays myriad landforms-lobate scarps, wrinkle ridges and high-relief ridges-that have been interpreted as the tectonic result of horizontal shortening of the lithosphere as Mercury contracted in response to secular cooling of its interior 5-9 . Still, important details of Mercury's contraction, such as the timing, duration and spatial concentration of surface deformation, have remained elusive. Until the MESSENGER flybys of Mercury in [2008][2009], an entire hemisphere of Mercury had yet to be imaged, so inferences made on the basis of Mariner 10 data could not reliably be generalized globally. Furthermore, widespread topographic data for the planet we...

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Section: Planetary Radius Changecontrasting

confidence: 68%

Section: Planetary Radius Changementioning

confidence: 99%

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Mercury’s global contraction much greater than earlier estimates

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“…Byrne et al, 2014;Di Achille et al, 2012). Wrinkle ridges (see Korteniemi, Walsh, & Hughes, 2015), although they are considered a 'contractional feature', were mapped separately as they are typically located within smooth plains (SP; e.g.…”

Section: Geodatabase Structure and Line Drawingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geology of the Victoria quadrangle (H02), Mercury

et al. 2016

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Mercury's quadrangle H02 'Victoria' is located in the planet's northern hemisphere and lies between latitudes 22.5°N and 65°N, and between longitudes 270°E and 360°E. This quadrangle covers 6.5% of the planet's surface with a total area of almost 5 million km 2 . Our 1:3,000,000-scale geologic map of the quadrangle was produced by photo-interpretation of remotely sensed orbital images captured by the MESSENGER spacecraft. Geologic contacts were drawn between 1:300,000 and 1:600,000 mapping scale and constitute the boundaries of intercrater, intermediate and smooth plains units; in addition, three morpho-stratigraphic classes of craters larger than 20 km were mapped. The geologic map reveals that this area is dominated by Intercrater Plains encompassing some almost-coeval, probably younger, Intermediate Plains patches and interrupted to the north-west, north-east and east by the Calorian Northern Smooth Plains. This map represents the first complete geologic survey of the Victoria quadrangle at this scale, and an improvement of the existing 1:5,000,000 Mariner 10-based map, which covers only 36% of the quadrangle. ARTICLE HISTORY

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“…Strom et al 1975;Watters et al 1998Watters et al , 2009Di Achille et al 2012) and those predicted by thermal evolution models (e.g. Solomon 1977;Dombard & Hauck 2008), with those from the first approach typically about 1-3 km but those from modelling of the order of 5-10 km.…”

Section: Distribution Of Tectonicsmentioning

confidence: 87%

Volcanism and tectonism across the inner solar system: an overview

Platz

Byrne

Massironi

et al. 2014

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Volcanism and tectonism are the dominant endogenic means by which planetary surfaces change. This book, in general, and this overview, in particular, aim to encompass the broad range in character of volcanism, tectonism, faulting and associated interactions observed on planetary bodies across the inner solar system -a region that includes Mercury, Venus, Earth, the Moon, Mars and asteroids. The diversity and breadth of landforms produced by volcanic and tectonic processes are enormous, and vary across the inventory of inner solar system bodies. As a result, the selection of prevailing landforms and their underlying formational processes that are described and highlighted in this review are but a primer to the expansive field of planetary volcanism and tectonism. In addition to this extended introductory contribution, this Special Publication features 21 dedicated research articles about volcanic and tectonic processes manifest across the inner solar system. Those articles are summarized at the end of this review.

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Mercury’s radius change estimates revisited using MESSENGER data

Cited by 38 publications

References 18 publications

Mercury’s global contraction much greater than earlier estimates

Mercury’s global contraction much greater than earlier estimates

Geology of the Victoria quadrangle (H02), Mercury

Volcanism and tectonism across the inner solar system: an overview

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