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Topography of the Northern Hemisphere of Mercury from MESSENGER Laser AltimetryLaser altimetry by the MESSENGER spacecraft has yielded a topographic model of the northern hemisphere of Mercury. The dynamic range of elevations is considerably smaller than those of Mars or the Moon. The most prominent feature is an extensive lowland at high northern latitudes that hosts the volcanic northern plains. Within this lowland is a broad topographic rise that experienced uplift after plains emplacement. The interior of the 1500-km-diameter Caloris impact basin has been modified so that part of the basin floor now stands higher than the rim. The elevated portion of the floor of Caloris appears to be part of a quasi-linear rise that extends for approximately half the planetary circumference at mid-latitudes. Collectively, these features imply that long-wavelength changes to Mercury s topography occurred after the earliest phases of the planet s geological history.
Document ID
20120009942
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Zuber,Maria T.
(Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. Cambridge, MA, United States)
Smith, David E.
(Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. Cambridge, MA, United States)
Phillips, Roger J.
(Southwest Research Inst. Boulder, CO, United States)
Solomon, Sean C.
(Carnegie Institution of Washington Washington, DC, United States)
Neumann, Gregory A.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Hauck, Steven A., Jr.
(Case Western Reserve Univ. Cleveland, OH, United States)
Peale, Stanton J.
(California Univ. Santa Barbara, CA, United States)
Barnouin, Oliver S.
(Johns Hopkins Univ. Laurel, MD, United States)
Head, James W.
(Brown Univ. Providence, RI, United States)
Johnson, Catherine L.
(British Columbia Univ. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)
Lemoine, Frank G.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Mazarico, Erwan
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Sun, Xiaoli
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Torrence, Mark H.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Freed, Andrew M.
(Purdue Univ. West Lafayette, IN, United States)
Klimczak, Christian
(Carnegie Institution of Washington Washington, DC, United States)
Margot, Jean-Luc
(California Univ. Los Angeles, CA, United States)
Oberst, Juergen
(Deutsche Forschungs- und Versuchsanstalt fuer Luft- und Raumfahrt Berlin, Germany)
Perry, Mark E.
(Johns Hopkins Univ. Laurel, MD, United States)
McNutt, Ralph L., Jr.
(Johns Hopkins Univ. Laurel, MD, United States)
Balcerski, Jeffrey A.
(Case Western Reserve Univ. Cleveland, OH, United States)
Michel, Nathalie
(Case Western Reserve Univ. Cleveland, OH, United States)
Talpe, Matthieu J.
(Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. Cambridge, MA, United States)
Yang, Di
(Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. Cambridge, MA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 25, 2013
Publication Date
April 13, 2012
Publication Information
Publication: Scoemce
Volume: 336
Issue: 6078
ISSN: 0036-8075
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Report/Patent Number
GSFC.CP.00122.2012
Meeting Information
Meeting: EGU 2012
Location: Vienna
Country: Austria
Start Date: April 22, 2012
End Date: April 27, 2012
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS5-97271
CONTRACT_GRANT: NASW-00002
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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