MARSIS radar sounder evidence of buried basins in the northern lowlands of Mars

A hemispheric dichotomy on Mars is marked by the sharp contrast between the sparsely cratered northern lowland plains and the heavily cratered southern highlands. Mechanisms proposed to remove ancient crust or form younger lowland crust include one or more giant impacts, subcrustal transport by mantle convection, the generation of thinner crust by plate tectonics, and mantle overturn following solidification of an early magma ocean. The age of the northern lowland crust is a significant constraint on these models. The Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS) instrument on the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft is providing new constraints on the martian subsurface. Here we show evidence of buried impact basins ranging in diameter from about 130 km to 470 km found over approximately 14 per cent of the northern lowlands. The number of detected buried basins >200 km in diameter indicates that the lowland crust is ancient, dating back to the Early Noachian epoch. This crater density is a lower limit because of the likelihood that not all buried basins in the area surveyed by MARSIS have been detected. An Early Noachian age for the lowland crust has been previously suggested on the basis of a large number of quasi-circular topographic depressions interpreted to be evidence of buried basins. Only a few of these depressions in the area surveyed by MARSIS, however, correlate with the detected subsurface echoes. On the basis of the MARSIS data, we conclude that the northern lowland crust is at least as old as the oldest exposed highland crust. This suggests that the crustal dichotomy formed early in the geologic evolution of Mars.     

Late formation and prolonged differentiation of the Moon inferred from W isotopes in lunar metals

The Moon is thought to have formed from debris ejected by a giant impact with the early 'proto'-Earth and, as a result of the high energies involved, the Moon would have melted to form a magma ocean. The timescales for formation and solidification of the Moon can be quantified by using 182Hf-182W and 146Sm-142Nd chronometry, but these methods have yielded contradicting results. In earlier studies, 182W anomalies in lunar rocks were attributed to decay of 182Hf within the lunar mantle and were used to infer that the Moon solidified within the first approximately 60 million years of the Solar System. However, the dominant 182W component in most lunar rocks reflects cosmogenic production mainly by neutron capture of 181Ta during cosmic-ray exposure of the lunar surface, compromising a reliable interpretation in terms of 182Hf-182W chronometry. Here we present tungsten isotope data for lunar metals that do not contain any measurable Ta-derived 182W. All metals have identical 182W/184W ratios, indicating that the lunar magma ocean did not crystallize within the first approximately 60 Myr of the Solar System, which is no longer inconsistent with Sm-Nd chronometry. Our new data reveal that the lunar and terrestrial mantles have identical 182W/184W. This, in conjunction with 147Sm-143Nd ages for the oldest lunar rocks, constrains the age of the Moon and Earth to Myr after formation of the Solar System. The identical 182W/184W ratios of the lunar and terrestrial mantles require either that the Moon is derived mainly from terrestrial material or that tungsten isotopes in the Moon and Earth's mantle equilibrated in the aftermath of the giant impact, as has been proposed to account for identical oxygen isotope compositions of the Earth and Moon.     

Chronological evidence that the Moon is either young or did not have a global magma ocean

Chemical evolution of planetary bodies, ranging from asteroids to the large rocky planets, is thought to begin with differentiation through solidification of magma oceans many hundreds of kilometres in depth. The Earth's Moon is the archetypical example of this type of differentiation. Evidence for a lunar magma ocean is derived largely from the widespread distribution, compositional and mineralogical characteristics, and ancient ages inferred for the ferroan anorthosite (FAN) suite of lunar crustal rocks. The FANs are considered to be primary lunar flotation-cumulate crust that crystallized in the latter stages of magma ocean solidification. According to this theory, FANs represent the oldest lunar crustal rock type. Attempts to date this rock suite have yielded ambiguous results, however, because individual isochron measurements are typically incompatible with the geochemical make-up of the samples, and have not been confirmed by additional isotopic systems. By making improvements to the standard isotopic techniques, we report here the age of crystallization of FAN 60025 using the (207)Pb-(206)Pb, (147)Sm-(143)Nd and (146)Sm-(142)Nd isotopic systems to be 4,360?±?3 million years. This extraordinarily young age requires that either the Moon solidified significantly later than most previous estimates or the long-held assumption that FANs are flotation cumulates of a primordial magma ocean is incorrect. If the latter is correct, then much of the lunar crust may have been produced by non-magma-ocean processes, such as serial magmatism.     

Spectral evidence for weathered basalt as an alternative to andesite in the northern lowlands of Mars

Mineral abundances derived from the analysis of remotely sensed thermal emission data from Mars have been interpreted to indicate that the surface is composed of basalt (Surface Type 1) and andesite (Surface Type 2). The global distribution of these rock types is divided roughly along the planetary dichotomy which separates ancient, heavily cratered crust in the southern hemisphere (basalt) from younger lowland plains in the north (andesite). But the existence of such a large volume of andesite is difficult to reconcile with our present understanding of the geological evolution of Mars. Here we reinterpret martian surface rock lithologies using mineral abundances from previous work and new mineralogies derived from a spectral end-member set representing minerals common in unaltered and low-temperature aqueously altered basalts. Our results continue to indicate the dominance of unaltered basalt in the southern highlands, but reveal that the northern lowlands can be interpreted as weathered basalt as an alternative to andesite. The coincidence between locations of such altered basalt and a suggested northern ocean basin implies that lowland plains material may be composed of basalts weathered under submarine conditions or weathered basaltic sediments transported into this depocentre.     

Trace-element fractionation in Hadean mantle generated by melt segregation from a magma ocean

Calculations of the energetics of terrestrial accretion indicate that the Earth was extensively molten in its early history. Examination of early Archaean rocks from West Greenland (3.6-3.8 Gyr old) using short-lived 146Sm-142Nd chronometry indicates that an episode of mantle differentiation took place close to the end of accretion (4.46 +/- 0.11 Gyr ago). This has produced a chemically depleted mantle with an Sm/Nd ratio higher than the chondritic value. In contrast, application of 176Lu-176Hf systematics to 3.6-3.8-Gyr-old zircons from West Greenland indicates derivation from a mantle source with a chondritic Lu/Hf ratio. Although an early Sm/Nd fractionation could be explained by basaltic crust formation, magma ocean crystallization or formation of continental crust, the absence of coeval Lu/Hf fractionation is in sharp contrast with the well-known covariant behaviour of Sm/Nd and Lu/Hf ratios in crustal formation processes. Here we show using mineral-melt partitioning data for high-pressure mantle minerals that the observed Nd and Hf signatures could have been produced by segregation of melt from a crystallizing magma ocean at upper-mantle pressures early in Earth's history. This residual melt would have risen buoyantly and ultimately formed the earliest terrestrial protocrust.     

Secondary craters on Europa and implications for cratered surfaces

For several decades, most planetary researchers have regarded the impact crater populations on solid-surfaced planets and smaller bodies as predominantly reflecting the direct ('primary') impacts of asteroids and comets. Estimates of the relative and absolute ages of geological units on these objects have been based on this assumption. Here we present an analysis of the comparatively sparse crater population on Jupiter's icy moon Europa and suggest that this assumption is incorrect for small craters. We find that 'secondaries' (craters formed by material ejected from large primary impact craters) comprise about 95 per cent of the small craters (diameters less than 1 km) on Europa. We therefore conclude that large primary impacts into a solid surface (for example, ice or rock) produce far more secondaries than previously believed, implying that the small crater populations on the Moon, Mars and other large bodies must be dominated by secondaries. Moreover, our results indicate that there have been few small comets (less than 100 m diameter) passing through the jovian system in recent times, consistent with dynamical simulations.     

Hf-W-Th evidence for rapid growth of Mars and its status as a planetary embryo

Terrestrial planets are thought to have formed through collisions between large planetary embryos of diameter ～1,000-5,000?km. For Earth, the last of these collisions involved an impact by a Mars-size embryo that formed the Moon 50-150?million years (Myr) after the birth of the Solar System. Although model simulations of the growth of terrestrial planets can reproduce the mass and dynamical parameters of the Earth and Venus, they fall short of explaining the small size of Mars. One possibility is that Mars was a planetary embryo that escaped collision and merging with other embryos. To assess this idea, it is crucial to know Mars' accretion timescale, which can be investigated using the (182)Hf-(182)W decay system in shergottite-nakhlite-chassignite meteorites. Nevertheless, this timescale remains poorly constrained owing to a large uncertainty associated with the Hf/W ratio of the Martian mantle and as a result, contradicting timescales have been reported that range between 0 and 15?Myr (refs 6-10). Here we show that Mars accreted very rapidly and reached about half of its present size in only 1.8(+0.9)(-1.0) Myr or less, which is consistent with a stranded planetary embryo origin. We have found a well-defined correlation between the Th/Hf and (176)Hf/(177)Hf ratios in chondrites that reflects remobilization of Lu and Th during parent-body processes. Using this relationship, we estimate the Hf/W ratio in Mars' mantle to be 3.51?±?0.45. This value is much more precise than previous estimates, which ranged between 2.6 and 5.0 (ref. 6), and lifts the large uncertainty that plagued previous estimates of the age of Mars. Our results also demonstrate that Mars grew before dissipation of the nebular gas when ～100-km planetesimals, such as the parent bodies of chondrites, were still being formed. Mars' accretion occurred early enough to allow establishment of a magma ocean powered by decay of (26)Al.     

达拉布特型碱性花岗岩形成和演化的某些问题探讨

结合岩石的地质地球化学特点 ,通过岩浆动力学的分析 ,提出 :达拉布特型碱性花岗岩是在玄武岩浆侵入作用下源区岩石部分熔融形成的岩浆演化的产物 岩石形成过程中出现的混合 (染 )作用主要发生在源区县以分层对流方式进行 形成岩石Eu负异常的长石的分离作用发生在岩浆萃取和源区岩石部分熔融阶段     

月球MariusHills盾形火山密度和岩石圈弹性厚度

MariusHills火山高原位于月球正面风暴洋区域,具有丰富的火山建造遗迹,包括火山穹窿,火山锥和月溪等．该区域保留了月海火山作用的典型特征,为研究月海热演化历史提供了有利的窗口．受以往观测数据类型的限制,大多数研究都是针对该区域的表面形貌和物质成分特性的分析,缺乏对月海火山次表层和内部结构等重要火山特征的研究．本文利用月球正面高分辨率地形和重力数据,结合附加表面和内部载荷的弹性薄壳均衡模型,对该火山区域的平均月壳密度,岩石圈弹性厚度和表面内部载荷比等参数进行定量约束．结果显示该区域月壳密度较高,为3040kg m^-3,具有典型的月海玄武质的密度特征;地下可能存在侵位较浅的岩浆房或岩床状侵入体或是岩浆充填了壳层松散的区域：该区域的岩石圈弹性厚度较小,约为4km,反映该区域在形成过程中富集了大量的热,该结果与通过光谱矿物分析得到的风暴洋区域富集产热元素（如钍）的结果一致．     

The Borealis basin and the origin of the martian crustal dichotomy

The most prominent feature on the surface of Mars is the near-hemispheric dichotomy between the southern highlands and northern lowlands. The root of this dichotomy is a change in crustal thickness along an apparently irregular boundary, which can be traced around the planet, except where it is presumably buried beneath the Tharsis volcanic rise. The isostatic compensation of these distinct provinces and the ancient population of impact craters buried beneath the young lowlands surface suggest that the dichotomy is one of the most ancient features on the planet. However, the origin of this dichotomy has remained uncertain, with little evidence to distinguish between the suggested causes: a giant impact or mantle convection/overturn. Here we use the gravity and topography of Mars to constrain the location of the dichotomy boundary beneath Tharsis, taking advantage of the different modes of compensation for Tharsis and the dichotomy to separate their effects. We find that the dichotomy boundary along its entire path around the planet is accurately fitted by an ellipse measuring approximately 10,600 by 8,500 km, centred at 67 degrees N, 208 degrees E. We suggest that the elliptical nature of the crustal dichotomy is most simply explained by a giant impact, representing the largest such structure thus far identified in the Solar System.     

刚体地球大洋潮波数值模拟

假定地壳为刚体，在旋转的地球上，水圈主体是世界大洋，考虑月球引潮力的作用，以及海底摩擦和海水紊动等诸多因素的影响，初步探讨了大洋潮波的运动和分布规律。     

Thickness constraints on the icy shells of the galilean satellites from a comparison of crater shapes

A thin outer ice shell on Jupiter's large moon Europa would imply easy exchange between the surface and any organic or biotic material in its putative subsurface ocean. The thickness of the outer ice shell is poorly constrained, however, with model-dependent estimates ranging from a few kilometres to ten or more kilometres. Here I present measurements of depths of impact craters on Europa, Ganymede and Callisto that reveal two anomalous transitions in crater shape with diameter. The first transition is probably related to temperature-dependent ductility of the crust at shallow depths (7 8 km on Europa). The second transition is attributed to the influence of subsurface oceans on all three satellites, which constrains Europa's icy shell to be at least 19 km thick. The icy lithospheres of Ganymede and Callisto are equally ice-rich, but Europa's icy shell has a thermal structure about 0.25 0.5 times the thicknesses of Ganymede's or Callisto's shells, depending on epoch. The appearances of the craters on Europa are inconsistent with thin-ice-shell models and indicate that exchange of oceanic and surface material could be difficult.     

公共汽车交通专用道及其停靠站最佳布置方法

针对国内外常用的路边型和路中型公交专用道布置模式 ,对比不同条件下公交车的车均延误差异 ,论证了公交专用道的最佳位置 ;在此基础上 ,重点分析了路中型专用道的中途停靠站设置于交叉口进口道和出口道的 2种模式 ,通过建立公交车车均延误模型及交通仿真分析 ,论证了停靠站的最佳布置位置 .     

新疆黄山-镜儿泉铜镍成矿带典型矿床特征及成因分析

黄山-镜儿泉铜镍成矿带是我国重要的大型铜镍矿基地。岩体为洋内俯冲的增生岛弧环境产物,为北天山洋壳向北俯冲增生记录。上地幔物质形成岩浆后,在弧间相对稳定的构遣环境下得以发生充分的岩浆重力分异,随着断裂构造的多期活动,这些岩浆、含硫化物岩浆和矿浆分别沿断裂被挤压-侵入上部地壳,形成基性-超基性岩的复式杂岩体和复式矿床,从而构成有特色的硫化铜镍矿床。成岩成矿时间应该在280～510Ma之间。     

月壳厚度横向变化对月震波传播影响的数值模拟研究

采用基于交错网格的二维伪谱与有限差分混合的方法, 根据现有的月球结构研究结果, 设计月壳?月幔分界面起伏的模型, 模拟浅震和深震月震波在不同起伏高度、宽度和位置情况下的传播, 讨论不同起伏高度、宽度和位置对月震信号传播的影响, 揭示月壳厚度横向变化对月震波形成强烈尾波的作用。结果表明: 起伏高度起主导作用, 主要影响尾波振幅和持续时间; 起伏宽度主要影响尾波振幅; 起伏位置的影响机制较为复杂, 不仅影响直达波到时, 还影响尾波振幅和持续时间。     

Mega-impact formation of the Mars hemispheric dichotomy

The Mars hemispheric dichotomy is expressed as a dramatic difference in elevation, crustal thickness and crater density between the southern highlands and northern lowlands (which cover approximately 42% of the surface). Despite the prominence of the dichotomy, its origin has remained enigmatic and models for its formation largely untested. Endogenic degree-1 convection models with north-south asymmetry are incomplete in that they are restricted to simulating only mantle dynamics and they neglect crustal evolution, whereas exogenic multiple impact events are statistically unlikely to concentrate in one hemisphere. A single mega-impact of the requisite size has not previously been modelled. However, it has been hypothesized that such an event could obliterate the evidence of its occurrence by completely covering the surface with melt or catastrophically disrupting the planet. Here we present a set of single-impact initial conditions by which a large impactor can produce features consistent with the observed dichotomy's crustal structure and persistence. Using three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations, large variations are predicted in post-impact states depending on impact energy, velocity and, importantly, impact angle, with trends more pronounced or unseen in commonly studied smaller impacts. For impact energies of approximately (3-6) x 10(29) J, at low impact velocities (6-10 km s(-1)) and oblique impact angles (30-60 degrees ), the resulting crustal removal boundary is similar in size and ellipticity to the observed characteristics of the lowlands basin. Under these conditions, the melt distribution is largely contained within the area of impact and thus does not erase the evidence of the impact's occurrence. The antiquity of the dichotomy is consistent with the contemporaneous presence of impactors of diameter 1,600-2,700 km in Mars-crossing orbits, and the impact angle is consistent with the expected distribution.     

Frozen magma lenses below the oceanic crust

The Earth's oceanic crust crystallizes from magmatic systems generated at mid-ocean ridges. Whereas a single magma body residing within the mid-crust is thought to be responsible for the generation of the upper oceanic crust, it remains unclear if the lower crust is formed from the same magma body, or if it mainly crystallizes from magma lenses located at the base of the crust. Thermal modelling, tomography, compliance and wide-angle seismic studies, supported by geological evidence, suggest the presence of gabbroic-melt accumulations within the Moho transition zone in the vicinity of fast- to intermediate-spreading centres. Until now, however, no reflection images have been obtained of such a structure within the Moho transition zone. Here we show images of groups of Moho transition zone reflection events that resulted from the analysis of approximately 1,500 km of multichannel seismic data collected across the intermediate-spreading-rate Juan de Fuca ridge. From our observations we suggest that gabbro lenses and melt accumulations embedded within dunite or residual mantle peridotite are the most probable cause for the observed reflectivity, thus providing support for the hypothesis that the crust is generated from multiple magma bodies.     

论地球、月球和陨石能量的地球化学

地球在漫长发展演化过程中,q,μ_n的变化规律是内外动力地质联合作用的结果,是导致地球分异的动力;月球的q、μ _n′变化不大是因漫长的化学停滞作用造成的,是缺乏內外动力地质联合作用的结果;陨石及其系列的形成,有如地球上的岩浆结晶作用一样,遵循晶格能依次增大的规律,q、μ_n′多样性反映来自小行星带的陨石物质成分的不均一。 地球、月球和陨石的q~(2/3)+μ_n′~(2/3)=82.23~(2/3)函数关系成立,表明它们从原始太阳星云中产生的同一性,作为太阳系独立成员的同时性,q、μ_n′的差异可能反映原始太阳星云物质的不均一性。     

The importance of water to oceanic mantle melting regimes

The formation of basaltic crust at mid-ocean ridges and ocean islands provides a window into the compositional and thermal state of the Earth's upper mantle. But the interpretation of geochemical and crustal-thickness data in terms of magma source parameters depends on our understanding of the melting, melt-extraction and differentiation processes that intervene between the magma source and the crust. Much of the quantitative theory developed to model these processes has neglected the role of water in the mantle and in magma, despite the observed presence of water in ocean-floor basalts. Here we extend two quantitative models of ridge melting, mixing and fractionation to show that the addition of water can cause an increase in total melt production and crustal thickness while causing a decrease in mean extent of melting. This may help to resolve several enigmatic observations in the major- and trace-element chemistry of both normal and hotspot-affected ridge basalts.     

西藏朗县蛇绿混杂岩中变辉绿岩和变玄武岩的年代学和地球化学

对西藏雅鲁藏布缝合带东段朗县混杂岩中的辉绿岩和玄武岩进行了岩石学、地球化学和SHRIMP锆石年代学研究.在早侏罗世(大约191 Ma B.P.)和侏罗纪最晚期到白垩纪最早期(大约146～148 Ma B.P.)分别有2幕岩浆活动;侵入于191.4±3.7 MaB.P.的变辉绿岩,是迄今为止在雅鲁藏布蛇绿混杂岩带发现的最...