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Plate Tectonics on Planetary Bodies

Plate Tectonics on Planetary Bodies. Terrestrial Planets. Age of Terrestrial Planet Surfaces. Relative amount of surface area. 2/3 of Earth’s surface formed. within the last 200 million years. Planets. 4. 3. 2. 1. form. Age of Surface (billions of years). Mars. Mars.

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Plate Tectonics on Planetary Bodies

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  1. Plate Tectonics on Planetary Bodies

  2. Terrestrial Planets

  3. Age of Terrestrial Planet Surfaces Relative amount of surface area 2/3 of Earth’s surface formed within the last 200 million years Planets 4 3 2 1 form Age of Surface (billions of years)

  4. Mars

  5. Mars Last eruption on Olympus Mons 2 to ~100 Myr ago Surface appears to be one plate Evidence for plate tectonics in the past is controversial Smaller radius mean it cooled down quicker than earth and the lithosphere (the rigid cold layer) is thicker - too strong for plate tectonics Large volcanoes show surface has not moved relative to mantle plumes

  6. Mantle Convection in Mars model by Walter Kiefer

  7. Venus

  8. VENUS Burst of volcanism 600-700 MYrs ago Either steady state ‘plate tectonics’ stopped then or Venus undergoes episodic bursts of volcanism Venus has lost its water. Water in the mantle may be critical for plate tectonics because it weakens the mantle and lubricates the motion of the plates. In the absence of lubrication the heat from radioactivity may build up inside Venus until it is released in catastrophic mantle overturning events.

  9. Water in the mantle weakens the asthenosphere and lubricates plate tectonics

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