Thermal history of Mars inferred from orbital geochemistry of volcanic provinces

David Baratoux (), Michael J. Toplis, Marc Monnereau and Olivier Gasnault
Additional contact information
David Baratoux: Université de Toulouse, UPS-OMP, IRAP
Michael J. Toplis: Université de Toulouse, UPS-OMP, IRAP
Marc Monnereau: Université de Toulouse, UPS-OMP, IRAP
Olivier Gasnault: Université de Toulouse, UPS-OMP, IRAP

Nature, 2011, vol. 472, issue 7343, 338-341

Abstract: Martian convection made simple The γ-ray spectrometer onboard the Mars Odyssey spacecraft is providing a window on the evolution of magmatism on the planet. An analysis of geochemical data from twelve major volcanic provinces of variable age reveals clear trends in composition that are consistent with varying degrees of melting of the Martian mantle. Thickening of the lithosphere is associated with a decrease of mantle potential temperature over time. This work suggests that the thermal history of Mars is consistent with simple models of mantle convection, in contrast to the complex situation that prevails on Earth.

Date: 2011
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/nature09903 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:nature:v:472:y:2011:i:7343:d:10.1038_nature09903

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/

DOI: 10.1038/nature09903

Access Statistics for this article

Nature is currently edited by Magdalena Skipper

More articles in Nature from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().