Structural control of scarps in the Rembrandt region of Mercury |
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| Authors: | Javier Ruiz Valle López James M Dohm Carlos Fernández |
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| Institution: | 1. Departamento de Geodinámica, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain;2. Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros en Topografía, Geodesia y Cartografía, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Carretera de Valencia, km 7.5, 28031 Madrid, Spain;3. Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona, Tucson, 85721 AZ, USA;4. Departamento de Geodinámica y Paleontología, Universidad de Huelva, Campus de El Carmen, 21071 Huelva, Spain |
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| Abstract: | Lobate scarps, thought to be the surface expression of large thrust faults, are the most spectacular contractional tectonic features visible on Mercury. Most lobate scarps follow a general and relatively simple pattern, with a roughly arcuate or linear form in plan view, and an asymmetric cross section characterized by a steeply rising scarp face and a gently declining back scarp. In this work, we study two peculiar and complex scarps in the Rembrandt region of Mercury through MESSENGER imagery. On the one hand, the formation of these scarps resulted in the deformation of features such as impact craters, fractures, extensional faults, and volcanic plains, while on the other hand, the deformed features partly influenced the formation of the scarps. Evidence for structural control on the formation of the scarps includes their orientation, segmentation, bifurcation, change in structural trend and dip orientation, and transition into high-relief ridges or wrinkle ridge morphologies in some cases. Thus, these two lobate scarps provide examples of complex geological relations among other features, expanding the recognized richness of mercurian geology. Also, the southern scarp records a complex history of contraction, suggesting that the development of some mercurian lobate scarps may be more complex than usually thought. |
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