Journal
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-PLANETS
Volume 120, Issue 2, Pages 195-209Publisher
AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION
DOI: 10.1002/2014JE004733
Keywords
Mercury; Carbon; sink; float experiments; density; Mercurian magma ocean; graphite floatation crust
Categories
Funding
- NASA [NNX11AG76G]
- New Mexico Space Grant Consortium Fellowship
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The range in density and compressibility of Mercurian melt compositions was determined to better understand the products of a possible Mercurian magma ocean and subsequent volcanism. Our experiments indicate that the only mineral to remain buoyant with respect to melts of the Mercurian mantle is graphite; consequently, it is the only candidate mineral to have composed a primary floatation crust during a global magma ocean. This exotic result is further supported by Mercury's volatile-rich nature and inexplicably darkened surface. Additionally, our experiments illustrate that partial melts of the Mercurian mantle that compose the secondary crust were buoyant over the entire mantle depth and could have come from as deep as the core-mantle boundary. Furthermore, Mercury could have erupted higher percentages of its partial melts compared to other terrestrial planets because magmas would not have stalled during ascent due to gravitational forces. These findings stem from the FeO-poor composition and shallow depth of Mercury's mantle, which has resulted in both low-melt density and a very limited range in melt density responsible for Mercury's primary and secondary crusts. The enigmatically darkened, yet low-FeO surface, which is observed today, can be explained by secondary volcanism and impact processes that have since mixed the primary and secondary crustal materials.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available