Computer Science
Scientific paper
Jul 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006phdt.........3r&link_type=abstract
PhD Thesis, Proquest Dissertations And Theses 2006. Section 0051, Part 0606 148 pages; [Ph.D. dissertation].United States -- Co
Computer Science
3
Mars, Tharsis Rise, Lithosphere
Scientific paper
The topography of Mars is dominated by two long-wavelength features: The crustal dichotomy between the northern and southern hemispheres and the Tharsis rise on the equator. Understanding the nature of these large-scale structures is critical for understanding the history of the planet. This thesis addresses three major questions: How is the Tharsis rise supported, what is the origin of the crustal dichotomy, and why is the dichotomy oriented north-south? Thermal convection is modeled in two-dimensional axisymmetric and three-dimensional spherical geometry for a series of rheologies, convective vigor, and heating rates that may correspond to early Mars conditions. The conditions and timescale required to develop convection at spherical harmonic degree-1 that may lead to the formation of the dichotomy are examined. The effect of such a convective structure and the crustal distribution associated with the dichotomy on the geoid, and the likely orientation of the planet before the formation of Tharsis is determined. The relationship between the thickness of the lithosphere at the time of Tharsis loading and the depth of the plume that may have produced Tharsis is determined. The results of this thesis suggest that Tharsis is entirely a surface loading and completely supported by elastic stresses in the lithosphere. Degree-1 convection will develop if a rapid change in viscosity of a moderate (8X to 25X) is present in the mid-mantle, and that such a pattern develops within the first few hundred Ma and persists indefinitely. The crustal dichotomy was likely originally formed in an east - west orientation and the growth of the crust drove a subsequent period of true polar wander, bringing the planet into its present orientation, with little contribution from Tharsis.
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