Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
May 2007
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007agusm.p41a..01p&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Spring Meeting 2007, abstract #P41A-01
Mathematics
Logic
5450 Orbital And Rotational Dynamics (1221), 5455 Origin And Evolution, 5480 Volcanism (6063, 8148, 8450), 6250 Moon (1221), 8125 Evolution Of The Earth (0325)
Scientific paper
Recent findings involving planetary surfaces are important to our understanding of our own Earth-Moon system. The discovery recently of slope wash and alluvium deposition possibly caused by flowing water, within the past 5 years, indicates a more active Mars and thus solar system in general [1]. Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) and High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) data is revealing craters as small as 10 m [2,3]. This new cratering evidence suggests young surface ages on Mars and likely other solid bodies in the solar system. On Europa, for example, evidence points to an overabundance of secondary cratering [4]. The importance of secondary cratering as noted for other bodies can be evaluated in terms of its impact on lunar mare cratering. Voyager I visited the Jupiter system and returned images of volcanic resurfacing of Jupiter's moon, Io, which is very similar to Earth's moon in size and density. Tidal heating prior to the discoveries on Io was not well understood. It was thought that the heat of volcanic resurfacing in the solar system, including in the Earth-Moon system, was driven primarily by accretion and isotopic heating. The discoveries of the Voyager missions introduced the concept of tidal heating as it had not been thought of before [5]. The model of tidal heating for Io can also be used to discuss tidal heating as an explanation for the heating history of the Moon and the formation of the lunar mare. Evidence for such a tidal heating event in the Earth-Moon system should be extant in the geologic record, and indeed the continental flood basalts (CFB) and the formation of the lunar mare provide the most ready examples. The observation that the lunar mare and Earth's CFBs are similar is not new [6]; however, a mechanism to explain the formation of both has been lacking. A tidal heating episode in the Earth-Moon system's past can be used to explain both the formation of the mare and the CFBs. All of these findings point toward much younger surfaces and a more dynamic solar system than has been previously imagined. Yet the estimated age of the mare surface has not been revised significantly since the preliminary examination of Apollo 11 lunar samples in 1969 [7]. Since then, the lunar mare have been used to calibrate planetary surfaces throughout the solar system. Interplanetary surfaces once dated with a crater flux produced from the isotopically dated lunar mare and thought to be billions of years old are now found to be quite young. This cratering paradox can be addressed with a new model in which the lunar mare are shown to be secondary surfaces formed during a tidal heating episode similar to that currently seen on Io. This secondary (tidal) heating, can be correlated with the geologic history of Earth. Hence, an examination of the new information available on cratering, volcanism, and tidal heating from diverse places such as Mars, Io, and Europa can yield clues about the geomorphology in the Earth-Moon system, and other unusual aspects of this system. [1] Malin, M. et al. (2006) Science, 314, 1573. [2] Aharonson, O. (2007) Lunar and Planetary Science XXXVIII, Abstract. [3] McEwen A. et al. (2007) Lunar and Planetary Science XXXVIII, Abstract. [4] McEwen, A. and Bierhaus, E. (2006) Annu. Rev. Earth. Planet. Sci. [5] Consolmagno, G. (1981) Proc. Lunar Planet. Sci. 12B. [6] Alt, D. et al. (1988) J. Geology. [7] Lunar Sample Preliminary Examination Team (1969) Science 165, 1211-17.
No associations
LandOfFree
Resurfacing Revisited: What Mars, Europa, and Io may have to Tell us About Cratering, Volcanism, and Tidal Heating in the Earth-Moon System. does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Resurfacing Revisited: What Mars, Europa, and Io may have to Tell us About Cratering, Volcanism, and Tidal Heating in the Earth-Moon System., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Resurfacing Revisited: What Mars, Europa, and Io may have to Tell us About Cratering, Volcanism, and Tidal Heating in the Earth-Moon System. will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1035478