Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jun 1977
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1977icar...31..221m&link_type=abstract
Icarus, vol. 31, June 1977, p. 221-243.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
66
Elastic Shells, Planetary Rotation, Planetology, Spin Reduction, Stress Distribution, Tectonics, Astronomical Models, Compressibility, Compression Loads, Cores, Lithosphere, Planetary Structure, Shear Stress, Stress Analysis, Tensile Stress, Thickness
Scientific paper
It is thought that Mercury, the moon, and many large satellites of the major planets have been tidally despun from an initially faster rotation, and that these bodies probably possessed equatorial bulges which relaxed as they lost their spin. An analysis of the stresses induced in an elastic shell by the relaxation of an equatorial bulge indicates that differential stresses may reach a few kilobars and that the tectonic pattern developed depends mainly upon the shell thickness. In every model studied the azimuthal stress is larger (more compressive) than the meridional stress. Tectonic patterns expected for the cases of a thin elastic shell and a thicker elastic shell are discussed. It is suggested that observations of the polar regions of a despun planet will help determine whether a given lineament system is due to stresses induced by the relaxation of the planet's equatorial bulge.
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