Extensional Landforms as Evidence for Recent Large-Scale Compressional Tectonism?

Man, Ben; Rothery, David; Balme, Matthew; Wright, Jack and Conway, Susan (2021). Extensional Landforms as Evidence for Recent Large-Scale Compressional Tectonism? In: Annual Meeting of the Mercury Exploration Assessment Group (MExAG), 3-5 Feb 2021, Virtual.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5095712

Abstract

A vast majority of tectonic landforms on Mercury have been formed by compression; extensional landforms do exist but are much rarer. Pristine back-scarp grabens associated with small lobate scarps (tens of kms in length and tens of metres in relief) provide evidence for geologically recent tectonism (such features aren’t expected to survive for extended periods of time due to impact gardening). These grabens form when thrusted material produces an anticline, causing local tensional stresses to form antithetic faults along the hinge zone. Calypso Rupes is the only large lobate scarp (381km in length and ~1km in relief) where such grabens have been identified to date. This work provides new evidence of graben formation along similarly large tectonic features and raises the question “has there been widespread recent tectonism and, if so, might it still be occurring to this day?”

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