The formation of Mercury's smooth plains

Indirect evidence is presented for a volcanic origin in the case of two smooth plains on Mercury, the Borealis Planitia and the Hilly and Lineated Terrain. These results, in conjunction with those previously obtained for the circum-Caloris plains and the Tolstoj basin, indicate that smooth plains volcanism was a global process on Mercury. It is further suggested that the smooth and intercrater plains may have resulted from two separate volcanic episodes, with smooth plains volcanism being a consequence of Caloris impact-triggering.