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The crust cooling and shrinking.
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What are scarps on mercury?
Cliffs/Canyons in the surface of a planet.
Why do we suppose that the lobate scarps on mercury's surface formed?
Mercury has shrunken through time. As Mercury cooled and shrank, the crust wrinkled.
How do scarps on Mercury differ from geological faults on Earth?
Scarps are thought to have been formed when the planet's iron core cooled and contracted, causing the crust to crack. Faults on Earth are the result of tectonic activity.
What are some characteristics of the planet Mercury?
The surface of Mercury is similar to the moons. Most of the craters peppering Mercury's surface were caused 3.7 or 4.5 billion years ago. The Great Bombardment was the time when craters were left on Mercury, earth's moon, and other surfaces in the universe. The craters on Mercury are flatter and have thinner rims than the ones on Earth. Bach and Mozart are examples of crater names. The Caloris Basin is the largest crater on Mercury. Its diameter is around 800 miles. Surrounding the Basin are the Caloris Mountains. These mountains were formed by piles of material were thrown out of the Basin. The weird terrain is almost opposite Caloris Basin. It consists of hills, ridges and grooves that cut across craters. The weird terrain my have been formed by shock waves that raced through the center of the planet and outward early in Mercury's history. A series of cliffs that are 100's of miles long run along Mercury's surface. These cliffs are called 'scarps'. The scarps were also probably formed early in the planets history. The surface is covered in a thin layer of dust in most areas. === === Young craters have sharp rims and bright rays extending outward. Others are degraded, with rims smoothed from crashing meteorites.
Why do neither Earth nor Earth's moon have lobate scarps like the ones observed on Mercury?
As we see in the news this week (20 Aug 2010) the Moon _does_ have lobate scarps. So we only need to deal with Earth. The theory is that the scarps are created due to contraction due to cooling of the interior of the body. Our tectonically active planet has plates that are in constant motion. Most of this is believed to be driven by convection of the molten core, but with movable plates, any contraction is easily accommodated by the same mechanism. Earth's system of tectonic plates lets it handle the contraction from cooling, or the convection driven motion of the plates in a way that generates our own analog of lobate scarps. Where a plate subducts (think South America's west coast) a 'scarp', in this case the Andes mountains, is pushed up adjacent to it.
What are scarps on mercury?
Cliffs/Canyons in the surface of a planet.
Why do we suppose that the lobate scarps on mercury's surface formed?
Mercury has shrunken through time. As Mercury cooled and shrank, the crust wrinkled.
How do scarps on Mercury differ from geological faults on Earth?
Scarps are thought to have been formed when the planet's iron core cooled and contracted, causing the crust to crack. Faults on Earth are the result of tectonic activity.
What planet has scarps on its surface?
Mars has multiple scarps on its surface. Olympus Mons has several major ones. Olympus Mons is the highest elevation in the solar system.
What are some characteristics of the planet Mercury?
The surface of Mercury is similar to the moons. Most of the craters peppering Mercury's surface were caused 3.7 or 4.5 billion years ago. The Great Bombardment was the time when craters were left on Mercury, earth's moon, and other surfaces in the universe. The craters on Mercury are flatter and have thinner rims than the ones on Earth. Bach and Mozart are examples of crater names. The Caloris Basin is the largest crater on Mercury. Its diameter is around 800 miles. Surrounding the Basin are the Caloris Mountains. These mountains were formed by piles of material were thrown out of the Basin. The weird terrain is almost opposite Caloris Basin. It consists of hills, ridges and grooves that cut across craters. The weird terrain my have been formed by shock waves that raced through the center of the planet and outward early in Mercury's history. A series of cliffs that are 100's of miles long run along Mercury's surface. These cliffs are called 'scarps'. The scarps were also probably formed early in the planets history. The surface is covered in a thin layer of dust in most areas. === === Young craters have sharp rims and bright rays extending outward. Others are degraded, with rims smoothed from crashing meteorites.
What caused mercury's surface to look like it does?
Because mercury has no atmosphere
Why do neither Earth nor Earth's moon have lobate scarps like the ones observed on Mercury?
As we see in the news this week (20 Aug 2010) the Moon _does_ have lobate scarps. So we only need to deal with Earth. The theory is that the scarps are created due to contraction due to cooling of the interior of the body. Our tectonically active planet has plates that are in constant motion. Most of this is believed to be driven by convection of the molten core, but with movable plates, any contraction is easily accommodated by the same mechanism. Earth's system of tectonic plates lets it handle the contraction from cooling, or the convection driven motion of the plates in a way that generates our own analog of lobate scarps. Where a plate subducts (think South America's west coast) a 'scarp', in this case the Andes mountains, is pushed up adjacent to it.
What birds feed on food scarps?
Jays, crows, blackbirds, juncos, sparrows.
How are scarps formed?
Scarps are vertical displacements of the ground surface along a fault, which may be represented by small rises or by steep cliffs. A fault scarp with relatively level land on each side is also called an escarpment.
What causes the temperature in mercury?
It is caused by solar radiation.
What in ancient Egyptian ointments caused deformities?
Mercury
Does mercury have any season?
No. Seasons are caused by the tilt of the axis. Mercury's axis is perpendicular to the Sun so there are no seasons.
