Crustal thickness and lithospheric properties of Mercury constrained by gravity data
The crust and lithosphere of Mercury record the footprints of exogenous and endogenous activities since its formation, and their physical properties provide important clues for understanding the overall evolution of Mercury. The gravity field contains information about the internal structure of this...
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| Format: | Article |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Geo-spatial Information Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10095020.2025.2511975 |
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| author | Qingyun Deng Mao Ye Weifeng Hao Chi Xiao Zhen Zhong Denggao Qiu Wensong Zhang Chong Zheng Yichen Wang Jianguo Yan Jean-Pierre Barriot Zhiyong Xiao Fei Li |
| author_facet | Qingyun Deng Mao Ye Weifeng Hao Chi Xiao Zhen Zhong Denggao Qiu Wensong Zhang Chong Zheng Yichen Wang Jianguo Yan Jean-Pierre Barriot Zhiyong Xiao Fei Li |
| author_sort | Qingyun Deng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The crust and lithosphere of Mercury record the footprints of exogenous and endogenous activities since its formation, and their physical properties provide important clues for understanding the overall evolution of Mercury. The gravity field contains information about the internal structure of this innermost planet. Although the Mercury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) mission acquired the best-quality orbital tracking data for Mercury, the solved gravity field models still suffer from the uneven resolution between the northern and southern hemispheres, in which broad gravity anomalies in the northern mid-latitude region and small-scale anomaly features in the high-latitude region are revealed. With gravity and topography data, the crustal thickness and lithospheric elastic thickness are inferred through geophysical modeling. The average crust thickness is estimated to be either 35 [Formula: see text] 18 or 26 [Formula: see text] 11 km based on different topography compensation models, indicating intensive crustal production during the early evolution epoch. The global crustal thickness variations are obtained by inverting the Bouguer gravity anomaly, which is suggested to be correlated with the mantle uplift of large impact basins, partial melt of mantle materials, or/and intra-lithosphere contractional strain. The temperature structure of the lithosphere indicated from the elastic thickness (Te) with strength model are correlated to internal thermal evolution. The ongoing Bepi-Colombo mission is expected to improve the Mercury gravity field model, which will greatly enhance the application of these geophysical models to Mercury. The scientific results related to Mercury’s crust and lithosphere provide a reference for studies of the Moon, Mars, and Callisto. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4d3d6210554b4dd78caabea5372ff0f2 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1009-5020 1993-5153 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geo-spatial Information Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-4d3d6210554b4dd78caabea5372ff0f22025-08-20T02:22:50ZengTaylor & Francis GroupGeo-spatial Information Science1009-50201993-51532025-06-0112510.1080/10095020.2025.2511975Crustal thickness and lithospheric properties of Mercury constrained by gravity dataQingyun Deng0Mao Ye1Weifeng Hao2Chi Xiao3Zhen Zhong4Denggao Qiu5Wensong Zhang6Chong Zheng7Yichen Wang8Jianguo Yan9Jean-Pierre Barriot10Zhiyong Xiao11Fei Li12Planetary Environmental and Astrobiological Research Laboratory, School of Atmospheric Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, ChinaChinese Antarctic Center of Surveying and Mapping, Wuhan University, Wuhan, ChinaLaboratory of Earthquake Geodesy, Institute of Seismology, China Earthquake Administration, Wuhan, ChinaSchool of Physics and Electronic Science, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, ChinaAerospace Information Research Institute, Henan Academy of Sciences, Zhengzhou, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, ChinaPlanetary Environmental and Astrobiological Research Laboratory, School of Atmospheric Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, ChinaPlanetary Environmental and Astrobiological Research Laboratory, School of Atmospheric Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, ChinaThe crust and lithosphere of Mercury record the footprints of exogenous and endogenous activities since its formation, and their physical properties provide important clues for understanding the overall evolution of Mercury. The gravity field contains information about the internal structure of this innermost planet. Although the Mercury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) mission acquired the best-quality orbital tracking data for Mercury, the solved gravity field models still suffer from the uneven resolution between the northern and southern hemispheres, in which broad gravity anomalies in the northern mid-latitude region and small-scale anomaly features in the high-latitude region are revealed. With gravity and topography data, the crustal thickness and lithospheric elastic thickness are inferred through geophysical modeling. The average crust thickness is estimated to be either 35 [Formula: see text] 18 or 26 [Formula: see text] 11 km based on different topography compensation models, indicating intensive crustal production during the early evolution epoch. The global crustal thickness variations are obtained by inverting the Bouguer gravity anomaly, which is suggested to be correlated with the mantle uplift of large impact basins, partial melt of mantle materials, or/and intra-lithosphere contractional strain. The temperature structure of the lithosphere indicated from the elastic thickness (Te) with strength model are correlated to internal thermal evolution. The ongoing Bepi-Colombo mission is expected to improve the Mercury gravity field model, which will greatly enhance the application of these geophysical models to Mercury. The scientific results related to Mercury’s crust and lithosphere provide a reference for studies of the Moon, Mars, and Callisto.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10095020.2025.2511975Mercurycrustal thicknesslithospheregravity field model |
| spellingShingle | Qingyun Deng Mao Ye Weifeng Hao Chi Xiao Zhen Zhong Denggao Qiu Wensong Zhang Chong Zheng Yichen Wang Jianguo Yan Jean-Pierre Barriot Zhiyong Xiao Fei Li Crustal thickness and lithospheric properties of Mercury constrained by gravity data Geo-spatial Information Science Mercury crustal thickness lithosphere gravity field model |
| title | Crustal thickness and lithospheric properties of Mercury constrained by gravity data |
| title_full | Crustal thickness and lithospheric properties of Mercury constrained by gravity data |
| title_fullStr | Crustal thickness and lithospheric properties of Mercury constrained by gravity data |
| title_full_unstemmed | Crustal thickness and lithospheric properties of Mercury constrained by gravity data |
| title_short | Crustal thickness and lithospheric properties of Mercury constrained by gravity data |
| title_sort | crustal thickness and lithospheric properties of mercury constrained by gravity data |
| topic | Mercury crustal thickness lithosphere gravity field model |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10095020.2025.2511975 |
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