Abstract
Mercury is a one-plate planet that has experienced significant radial contraction primarily driven by interior cooling. In some previous studies aimed at estimating the total magnitude of contraction, numerous faults are assigned to positive relief landforms, many without evidence of origin by deformation, resulting in estimates of planetary radius reduction as large as 7 km. Here we use high-incidence angle image mosaics and topography from the MESSENGER mission to map Mercury’s contractional landforms. Each landform is assigned a single, principal fault, resulting in an amount of contractional strain equivalent to a radius change of no more than 1 to 2 km. A small radius change since the end of heavy bombardment is consistent with Mercury’s long-lived magnetic field and evidence of recent tectonic activity. It is concluded that the retention of interior heat and a lower degree of contraction may be facilitated by the insulating effect of a thick megaregolith.
Highlights
Mercury is a one-plate planet that has experienced significant radial contraction primarily driven by interior cooling
Among the most remarkable discoveries that can be attributed to the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) mission during three flybys and over four years in orbit is the detection of hundreds of large-scale tectonic landforms indicative of planetary contraction
The approach taken in the interpretation and mapping of the tectonic landforms is critical to the analysis of the spatial distribution and to estimates of the contractional strain
Summary
Mercury is a one-plate planet that has experienced significant radial contraction primarily driven by interior cooling. Lobate scarps and high-relief ridges result from global contraction due to interior cooling with some contribution of stresses from other global-scale sources
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