Download Mercury`s Geologic History

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
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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