Tectonics Terrestrial Planets2

What do we mean by “tectonics?”: 

What do we mean by “tectonics?” Movement of a planet’s surface Movement = ???

What Drives Tectonics?: 

What Drives Tectonics?

What Drives Tectonics?: 

What Drives Tectonics?

Types of Movement: 

Types of Movement

Types of Movement: 

Types of Movement

Types of Movement: 

Types of Movement

Slide9: 

Mercury Geologically inactive (3.7 Ga) Features resulting from compressive forces

Slide10: 

Venus Possibly geologically active Volcanoes = heat loss Lava flows (craters  young) Thick crust; convecting mantle Wrinkle ridges, extensional zones

Slide11: 

Alpha Regio Tesserae - highly deformed older terrain (< 1 Ga) More cratered Embayed by lava flows

Slide12: 

Maat Mons – 8 km high, Aphrodite Terra Region

Slide13: 

Mars Probably geologically active Volcanoes = heat loss Thick crust; convecting mantle Wrinkle ridges, extensional zones - BIG

Slide14: 

Olympus Mons 24 km high 550-600 km across Thick crust!

Mars: 

Mars dfldjfkdkfj

Volcanoes on Mars: 

Volcanoes on Mars http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/planet_volcano/mars/Overview.html

Martian Volcanoes: 

Martian Volcanoes Less gravitational pull; volcanoes larger before collapsing under own weight Hot spots and crust are stationary

Slide18: 

It’s still all about heat loss!

Slide19: 

Heat from Impacts, differentiation, radioactive decay Differentiation of layers Continued differentiation - volcanism, tectonism All are differentiated All have been cooling – unique signature Moon and Mercury – solid core; geologically inactive; conduction Mars and Venus – solid core; geologically active; convection in mantle Earth ….