Long-lived explosive volcanism on Mercury

Thomas, Rebecca J.; Rothery, David A.; Conway, Susan J. and Anand, Mahesh (2014). Long-lived explosive volcanism on Mercury. Geophysical Research Letters, 41(17) pp. 6084–6092.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL061224

Abstract

The duration and timing of volcanic activity on Mercury are key indicators of the thermal evolution of the planet and provide a valuable comparative example for other terrestrial bodies. The majority of effusive volcanism on Mercury appears to have occurred early in the planet's geological history (~4.1–3.55 Ga), but there is also evidence for explosive volcanism. Here we present evidence that explosive volcanism occurred from at least 3.9 Ga until less than a billion years ago and so was substantially more long-lived than large-scale lava plains formation. This indicates that thermal conditions within Mercury have allowed partial melting of silicates through the majority of its geological history and that the overall duration of volcanism on Mercury is similar to that of the Moon despite the different physical structure, geological history, and composition of the two bodies.

Viewing alternatives

Metrics

Item Actions

Export

You can export this page using these formats Digital Object Identifier - DOI

About

• Item ORO ID
• 40782
• Item Type
• Journal Item
• ISSN
• 1944-8007
• Project Funding Details

• Funded Project Name	Project ID	Funding Body
  The Geology of Mercury at High Spatial Resolution (PhD)	ST/K502212/1	STFC (Science & Technology Facilities Council)
  BepiColombo	UKSA PP/E002412/1	UKSA
  BepiColombo	ST/M002101/1	UKSA
  STFC Consolidated Grant	ST/L000776/1	STFC (Science & Technology Facilities Council)

• Keywords
• volcanism; Mercury
• Academic Unit or School
• Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) > Physical Sciences
  Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
• Research Group
• ?? space ??
• Copyright Holders
• © 2014 The Authors
• Depositing User
• Rebecca Thomas