Publication Date:
1995-06-09
Description:
Microwave and mid-infrared observations reveal that Mercury's surface contains less FeO + TiO2 and at least as much feldspar as the lunar highlands. The results are compatible with the high albedo (brightness) of Mercury's surface at visible wavelengths in suggesting a rock and soil composition that is devoid of basalt, the primary differentiate of terrestrial mantles. The occurrence of a basalt-free, highly differentiated crust is in accord with recent models of the planet's thermal evolution and suggests that Mercury has retained a hot interior as a result of a combination of inefficient mantle convection and minimal volcanic heat loss.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Jeanloz, R -- Mitchell, D L -- Sprague, A L -- de Pater, I -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 1995 Jun 9;268(5216):1455-7.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of California, Berkeley 94720, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7770770" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉
Keywords:
Ferrous Compounds/*analysis
;
Hot Temperature
;
*Mercury (Planet)
;
Minerals/*analysis
;
Silicates/*analysis
;
Titanium/*analysis
Print ISSN:
0036-8075
Electronic ISSN:
1095-9203
Topics:
Biology
,
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Computer Science
,
Medicine
,
Natural Sciences in General
,
Physics
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