Transcript Document
Geology of Mercury By Triana Henz Stratigraphy • Terrian reconnaissance – Images of the planet • Classification of images – Find cause and affect • Chronostratigraphic classification – Finding major events First Map of Mercury • Trask and Guest were the first to map Mercury once the Mariner 10 images were analyze • There were six things that had caught their eyes the first time they were looking at the images • Other people after them help develop the stratigraphic that is used today for Mercury Wide-spread inter-crater plains Heavily cratered plains Caloris basin and related deposits Smooth Plains Hilly and Lineated antipodal to Caloris Basin Younger craters Pre-Tolstoj • • • • • • The oldest identified terrian Occurred before 4 Gigaannum (Ga) Multiringed basin deposits Extensive intercrater plains High impact rate Crustial formation and early evolution Tolstojan System • Tolstoj basin • ~4 - 3.5 Ga • Goya Formation • “Archimedean” craters Calorian System • Caloris Impact and basin • Wide-spread smooth plains • 3.9 – 3(.5) Ga • Caloris Group Caloris Montes and Nervo Odin Van Eyck Formation Mansurian System • Mansur crater • Other impact craters with no bright rays • No evidence for regional volcanic or tectonic activities • ~3(.5) – 1 Ga Kuiperian Period • ~1 Ga to present • Bright-rayed crater Kuiper • Deposits of impact craters with their bright rays still visible Messenger • Let us see what’s on the “dark side” • The respective data that is collected will help place together the global geologic sequence together • The data will help piece together the history of Mercury