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The Borealis Basin of MarsWhy the lowlands of Mars are concentrated in the Northern Hemisphere and the highlands in the Southern Hemisphere is probably the most fundamental unsolved problem in martian geology. No explanation that accounts both for this asymmetric distribution and for the isostatic equilibrium across the scarp or sloping transition zone dividing the two provinces has been generally accepted; thinning of the lithosphere in the northern hemisphere by internal processes has been suggested. Because other lowland-highland distributions on Mars, Moon, and Mercury are controlled by impact basins, it is proposed that a giant basin formed early in Mars' history has caused the martian hemispheric dichotomy as well.
Document ID
19840015404
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Wilhelms, D. E.
(Geological Survey Menlo Park, Calif., United States)
Squyres, S. W.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 12, 2013
Publication Date
April 1, 1984
Publication Information
Publication: NASA. Washington Rept. of Planetary Geol. Program, 1983
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Exploration
Accession Number
84N23472
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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