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Thrust faults and the global contraction of Mercury
Author(s) -
Watters Thomas R.,
Robinson Mark S.,
Bina Craig R.,
Spudis Paul D.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2003gl019171
Subject(s) - geology , fault scarp , thrust fault , seismology , thrust , tectonics , crust , geophysics , physics , thermodynamics
Lobate scarps on Mercury are the surface expression of thrust faults and are generally thought to be the result of global contraction. Our analysis indicates that these thrust faults are not uniformly distributed and exhibit non‐random patterns on the imaged hemisphere. The greatest area normalized cumulative length of the faults occurs in the southern hemisphere, below 50°S. The thrust faults in this region dip to the north, indicating a broad zone where the crust has been displaced to the south. Widespread thrust faulting may not have initiated before the emplacement of Calorian smooth plains, well after the emplacement of pre‐Tolstojan intercrater plains. Our observations suggest that regional‐scale tectonic stresses on Mercury dominated over stresses resulting from global contraction.