The Terrestrial Objects
The Physics of the Interior
Pressure, temperature, density
Differentiation into:
core, mantle, crust
asthenosphere, lithosphere
the importance of the lithosphere
How do we know what the interior looks like?
Gravity measures
Magnetic field
Surface features and chemistry
Seismic primary and secondary waves
The Heating and Cooling of Interiors
Differentiation
Radioactive heating (most important for terrestrials now)
Tidal heating (not important for us)
Convection
Conduction
Radiation
Any new energy sources?
Surface to volume ratio
The difference between cooling slowly and cooling fast.
Planetary Magnetic fields
Two ways to create a magnetic field easy hard
So, why does Earth and Mercury have magnetic field and Mars, Venus and the moon do not?
How are
terrestrial surfaces modified?
Crater depends on energy but is about 10x size of impactor
Ejecta
Largest are called impact basins lunar maria more on the earthside
Sometimes they get really small
Bowl
Filled
They show what they hit. Rock ice and rock ice
Impacts ‘garden’ the soil e.g. lunar regolith
outgassing (atmosphere production)
Plates earth heat transfer and plates
Wind dunes
What matters?
Distance from the Sun (temperature)
THE TOUR
The Surface
Craters
Intercrater plains smoother plus scarps
But scarps show global shrinkage
Volcanic plains
The Surface
water and more water but is it recent?
solid evidence layering dried mud
The Atmosphere
Thin, cold and mostly CO2
The Atmosphere
Thick, hot and mostly CO2
Shield volcanoes pancake domes coronae
The Surface
The four processes
Plate Tectonics
Plate motion or continental drift global plates
Multiple shifts affect continents
New rifts and mountains forming and sea floor spreading
Earthquakes are mostly along plate boundaries movie 1 2
Near plate boundaries stratovolcanoes
The Surface
Why does the Earth have plates and Venus does not?
Why are the surfaces so different?
Atmosphere
Interrelationships
