Description: Publication date: 1 January 2017 Source: Icarus, Volume 281

Description: Publication date: 1 January 2017 Source: Icarus, Volume 281 Author(s): Jurriën Sebastiaan Knibbe, Wim van Westrenen We have simulated in-orbit variations of the impact flux and spatial distributions of >100 km diameter ( D ) crater production for Mercury in its current 3:2 and hypothetical 2:1 and 1:1 spin–orbit resonances. Results show that impact fluxes and D > 100 km cratering are non-uniform for these rotational states when Mercury's orbit is significantly eccentric. Variations in the impact flux and D > 100 km cratering depend on the orbital elements of Mercury and its impactors. The observed spatial distribution of large Mercurian craters is difficult to generate by cratering in Mercury's current 3:2 spin–orbit resonance, but can be produced by cratering in a former 1:1 (as previously proposed by Wieczorek et al., 2012 ) or 2:1 spin–orbit resonance. We have calculated capture probabilities at spin–orbit resonances for a rigid Mercury. If Mercury's initial rotation was prograde, we find that a higher order spin–orbit resonance is the most likely first capture for feasible (low) values of Mercury's past triaxiality. In light of Mercury's crater record, we examined the possibility that impacts have initiated transitions in past spin–orbit resonances. Although the number of craters whose generating impact would have destabilized a spin–orbit resonance is sensitive to the crater scaling procedure, any initial rotational state of Mercury has likely been destabilized by impacts. An initial and permanent 3:2 spin–orbit resonance capture seems untenable. Mercury's tidal torque decelerates Mercury's rotation for the most likely range of Mercury's orbital eccentricity. Only one or two craters are candidate relics of an impact-event that facilitates an instantaneous transition from a former synchronous rotation to the 3:2 spin–orbit resonance, and only for a small crater scaling factor. We propose a rotational evolution trajectory for Mercury with visits to spin–orbit resonances of decreasing order including a substantial period in the 2:1 spin–orbit resonance, which can account for the observed spatial distribution of large craters.

Description: Publication date: 1 January 2017 Source: Icarus, Volume 281 Author(s): M.L. Delitsky, D.A. Paige, M.A. Siegler, E.R. Harju, D. Schriver, R.E. Johnson, P. Travnicek Observations by the MESSENGER spacecraft during its flyby and orbital observations of Mercury in 2008–2015 indicated the presence of cold icy materials hiding in permanently-shadowed craters in Mercury's north polar region. These icy condensed volatiles are thought to be composed of water ice and frozen organics that can persist over long geologic timescales and evolve under the influence of the Mercury space environment. Polar ices never see solar photons because at such high latitudes, sunlight cannot reach over the crater rims. The craters maintain a permanently cold environment for the ices to persist. However, the magnetosphere will supply a beam of ions and electrons that can reach the frozen volatiles and induce ice chemistry. Mercury's magnetic field contains magnetic cusps , areas of focused field lines containing trapped magnetospheric charged particles that will be funneled onto the Mercury surface at very high latitudes. This magnetic highway will act to direct energetic protons, ions and electrons directly onto the polar ices. The radiation processing of the ices could convert them into higher-order organics and dark refractory materials whose spectral characteristics are consistent with low-albedo materials observed by MESSENGER Laser Altimeter (MLA) and RADAR instruments. Galactic cosmic rays (GCR), scattered UV light and solar energetic particles (SEP) also supply energy for ice processing. Cometary impacts will deposit H 2 O , CH 4 , CO 2 and NH 3 raw materials onto Mercury's surface which will migrate to the poles and be converted to more complex C H N O S-containing molecules such as aldehydes, amines, alcohols, cyanates, ketones, hydroxides, carbon oxides and suboxides, organic acids and others. Based on lab experiments in the literature, possible specific compounds produced may be: H 2 CO, HCOOH, CH 3 OH, HCO, H 2 CO 3 , CH 3 C(O)CH 3 , C 2 O, C x O, C 3 O 2 , C x O y , CH 3 CHO, CH 3 OCH 2 CH 2 OCH 3 , C 2 H 6 , C x H y, NO 2, HNO 2 , HNO 3 , NH 2 OH, HNO, N 2 H 2 , N 3 , HCN, Na 2 O, NaOH, CH 3 NH 2, SO, SO 2 , SO 3 , OCS, H 2 S, CH 3 SH, even B x H y . Three types of radiation processing mechanisms may be at work in the ices: (1) Impact/dissociation, (2) Ion implantation and (3) Nuclear recoil (hot atom chemistry). Magnetospheric energy sources dominate the radiation effects. Total energy fluxes of photons, SEPs and GCRs are all around two or more orders of magnitude less than the fluxes from magnetospheric energy sources (in the focused cusp particles). However, SEPs and GCRs cause chemical processing at greater depths than other particles leading to thicker organic layers. Processing of polar volatiles on Mercury would be somewhat different from that on the Moon because Mercury has a magnetic field while the Moon does not. The channeled flux of charged particles through these magnetospheric cusps is a chemical processing mechanism unique to Mercury as compared to other airless bodies.

Description: Publication date: 1 January 2017 Source: Icarus, Volume 281 Author(s): Aimee W. Merkel, Timothy A. Cassidy, Ronald J. Vervack, William E. McClintock, Menelaos Sarantos, Matthew H. Burger, Rosemary M. Killen The Ultraviolet and Visible Spectrometer channel of the Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer instrument aboard the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging spacecraft made near-daily observations of solar-scattered resonant emission from magnesium in Mercury's exosphere during the mission's orbital phase (March 2011–April 2015, ∼17 Mercury years). In this paper, a subset of these data (March 2013–April 2015) is described and analyzed to illustrate Mg's spatial and temporal variations. Dayside altitude profiles of emission are used to make estimates of the Mg density and temperature. The main characteristics of the Mg exosphere are (a) a predominant enhancement of emission in the morning (6 am–10 am) near perihelion, (b) a bulk temperature of ∼6000 K, consistent with impact vaporization as the predominant ejection process, (c) a near-surface density that varies from 5 cm −3 to 50 cm −3 and (d) a production rate that is strongest in the morning on the inbound leg of Mercury's orbit with rates ranging from 1 × 10 5 cm −2 s −1 to 8 × 10 5 cm −2 s −1 .

Description: Publication date: 1 January 2017 Source: Icarus, Volume 281 Author(s): ZhenLiang Tian, Jack Wisdom, Linda Elkins-Tanton Several new scenarios of the Moon-forming giant impact have been proposed to reconcile the giant impact theory with the recent recognition of the volatile and refractory isotopic similarities between Moon and Earth. Two scenarios leave the post-impact Earth spinning much faster than what is inferred from the present Earth-Moon system's angular momentum. The evection resonance has been proposed to drain the excess angular momentum, but the lunar orbit stays at high orbital eccentricities for long periods in the resonance, which would cause large tidal heating in the Moon. A limit cycle related to the evection resonance has also been suggested as an alternative mechanism to reduce the angular momentum, which keeps the lunar orbit at much lower eccentricities, and operates in a wider range of parameters. In this study we use a coupled thermal-orbital model to determine the effect of the change of the Moon's thermal state on the Earth-Moon system's dynamical history. The evection resonance no longer drains angular momentum from the Earth-Moon system since the system rapidly exits the resonance. Whereas the limit cycle works robustly to drain as much angular momentum as in the non-thermally-coupled model, though the Moon's tidal properties change throughout the evolution.

Description: Publication date: 1 January 2017 Source: Icarus, Volume 281 Author(s): C.D. Neish, C.W. Hamilton, S.S. Hughes, S. Kobs Nawotniak, W.B. Garry, J.R. Skok, R.C. Elphic, E. Schaefer, L.M. Carter, J.L. Bandfield, G.R. Osinski, D. Lim, J.L. Heldmann Lunar impact melt deposits have unique physical properties. They have among the highest observed radar returns at S-Band (12.6 cm wavelength), implying that they are rough at the decimeter scale. However, they are also observed in high-resolution optical imagery to be quite smooth at the meter scale. These characteristics distinguish them from well-studied terrestrial analogues, such as Hawaiian pāhoehoe and ʻaʻā lava flows. The morphology of impact melt deposits can be related to their emplacement conditions, so understanding the origin of these unique surface properties will help to inform us as to the circumstances under which they were formed. In this work, we seek to find a terrestrial analogue for well-preserved lunar impact melt flows by examining fresh lava flows on Earth. We compare the radar return and high-resolution topographic variations of impact melt flows to terrestrial lava flows with a range of surface textures. The lava flows examined in this work range from smooth Hawaiian pāhoehoe to transitional basaltic flows at Craters of the Moon (COTM) National Monument and Preserve in Idaho to rubbly and spiny pāhoehoe-like flows at the recent eruption at Holuhraun in Iceland. The physical properties of lunar impact melt flows appear to differ from those of all the terrestrial lava flows studied in this work. This may be due to (a) differences in post-emplacement modification processes or (b) fundamental differences in the surface texture of the melt flows due to the melts’ unique emplacement and/or cooling environment. Information about the surface properties of lunar impact melt deposits will be critical for future landed missions that wish to sample these materials.

Description: Publication date: 1 January 2017 Source: Icarus, Volume 281 Author(s): G. Gilli, S. Lebonnois, F. González-Galindo, M.A. López-Valverde, A. Stolzenbach, F. Lefèvre, J.Y. Chaufray, F. Lott We present here the thermal structure of the upper atmosphere of Venus predicted by a full self-consistent Venus General Circulation Model (VGCM) developed at Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (LMD) and extended up to the thermosphere of the planet. Physical and photochemical processes relevant at those altitudes, plus a non-orographic GW parameterisation, have been added. All those improvements make the LMD-VGCM the only existing ground-to-thermosphere 3D model for Venus: a unique tool to investigate the atmosphere of Venus and to support the exploration of the planet by remote sounding. The aim of this paper is to present the model reference results, to describe the role of radiative, photochemical and dynamical effects in the observed thermal structure in the upper mesosphere/lower thermosphere of the planet. The predicted thermal structure shows a succession of warm and cold layers, as recently observed. A cooling trend with increasing latitudes is found during daytime at all altitudes, while at nighttime the trend is inverse above about 110  km, with an atmosphere up to 15 K warmer towards the pole. The latitudinal variation is even smaller at the terminator, in agreement with observations. Below about 110  km, a nighttime warm layer whose intensity decreases with increasing latitudes is predicted by our GCM. A comparison of model results with a selection of recent measurements shows an overall good agreement in terms of trends and order of magnitude. Significant data-model discrepancies may be also discerned. Among them, thermospheric temperatures are about 40–50 K colder and up to 30 K warmer than measured at terminator and at nighttime, respectively. The altitude layer of the predicted mesospheric local maximum (between 100 and 120  km) is also higher than observed. Possible interpretations are discussed and several sensitivity tests performed to understand the data-model discrepancies and to propose future model improvements.

Description: Publication date: 1 January 2017 Source: Icarus, Volume 281 Author(s): David J. Lawrence, Patrick N. Peplowski, Andrew W. Beck, William C. Feldman, Elizabeth A. Frank, Timothy J. McCoy, Larry R. Nittler, Sean C. Solomon We report measurements of the flux of fast neutrons at Mercury from 20ºS to the north pole. On the basis of neutron transport simulations and remotely sensed elemental compositions, cosmic-ray-induced fast neutrons are shown to provide a measure of average atomic mass, 〈 A >, a result consistent with earlier studies of the Moon and Vesta. The dynamic range of fast neutron flux at Mercury is 3%, which is smaller than the fast-neutron dynamic ranges of 30% and 6% at the Moon and Vesta, respectively. Fast-neutron data delineate compositional terranes on Mercury that are complementary to those identified with X-ray, gamma-ray, and slow-neutron data. Fast neutron measurements confirm the presence of a region with high 〈 A >, relative to the mean for the planet, that coincides with the previously identified high-Mg region and reveal the existence of at least two additional compositional terranes: a low-〈 A > region within the northern smooth plains and a high-〈 A > region near the equator centered near 90ºE longitude. Comparison of the fast-neutron map with elemental composition maps show that variations predicted from the combined element maps are not consistent with the measured variations in fast-neutron flux. This lack of consistency could be due to incomplete coverage for some elements or uncertainties in the interpretations of compositional and neutron data. Currently available data and analyses do not provide sufficient constraints to resolve these differences.

Description: Publication date: 1 January 2017 Source: Icarus, Volume 281 Author(s): Colin M. Dundas Scalloped depressions in the Martian mid-latitudes are likely formed by sublimation of ice-rich ground. The stability of subsurface ice changes with the planetary obliquity, generally becoming less stable at lower axial tilt. As a result, the relative rates of sublimation and creep change over time. A landscape evolution model shows that these variations produce internal structure in scalloped depressions, commonly in the form of arcuate ridges, which emerge as depressions resume growth after pausing or slowing. In other scenarios, the formation of internal structure is minimal. Significant uncertainties in past climate and model parameters permit a range of scenarios. Ridges observed in some Martian scalloped depressions could date from obliquity lows or periods of low ice stability occurring 〈5 Ma, suggesting that the pits are young features and may be actively evolving.

Description: Publication date: 1 January 2017 Source: Icarus, Volume 281 Author(s): Michael J. Heap, Paul K. Byrne, Sami Mikhail Surface gravitational acceleration (surface gravity) on Mars, the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, is much lower than that on Earth. A direct consequence of this low surface gravity is that lithostatic pressure is lower on Mars than on Earth at any given depth. Collated published data from deformation experiments on basalts suggest that, throughout its geological history (and thus thermal evolution), the Martian brittle lithosphere was much thicker but weaker than that of present-day Earth as a function solely of surface gravity. We also demonstrate, again as a consequence of its lower surface gravity, that the Martian lithosphere is more porous, that fractures on Mars remain open to greater depths and are wider at a given depth, and that the maximum penetration depth for opening-mode fractures (i.e., joints) is much deeper on Mars than on Earth. The result of a weak Martian lithosphere is that dykes—the primary mechanism for magma transport on both planets—can propagate more easily and can be much wider on Mars than on Earth. We suggest that this increased the efficiency of magma delivery to and towards the Martian surface during its volcanically active past, and therefore assisted the exogeneous and endogenous growth of the planet's enormous volcanoes (the heights of which are supported by the thick Martian lithosphere) as well as extensive flood-mode volcanism. The porous and pervasively fractured (and permeable) nature of the Martian lithosphere will have also greatly assisted the subsurface storage of and transport of fluids through the lithosphere throughout its geologically history. And so it is that surface gravity, influenced by the mass of a planetary body, can greatly modify the mechanical and hydraulic behaviour of its lithosphere with manifest differences in surface topography and geomorphology, volcanic character, and hydrology.