Basaltic volcanism - The importance of planet sizeThe volumetrically abundant basalts on the earth, its moon, and the eucrite parent planet all have chemical compositions that are controlled to a large extent by dry, low-pressure, crystal-liquid equilibria. Since this generalization is valid for these three planetary bodies, we infer that it may also apply to the other unsampled terrestrial planets. Other characteristics of basaltic volcanism show variations which appear to be related to planet size: the eruption temperatures, degrees of fractionation, and chemical variety of basalts and the endurance of basaltic volcanism all increase with planet size. Although the processes responsible for chemical differences between basalt suites are known, no simple systematization of the chemical differences between basalts from planet to planet has emerged.
Document ID
19800039501
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Authors
Walker, D. (Harvard Univ. Cambridge, MA, United States)
Stolper, E. M. (Harvard Univ. Cambridge, MA, United States)
Hays, J. F. (Harvard University Cambridge, Mass., United States)