Engineering topics

Parmentier, E. Marc

Publications and source records attributed to Parmentier, E. Marc.

3 records

NASA NTRS2002

Planetary Geophysics and Tectonics

We have carried out several studies that explore explanations for the role of chemical density variations in Moon s evolution. Meaningful models for the evolution of the Moon must explain a number of important magmatic characteristics. Volcanic activity subsequent to the formation of its anorthositic crust was dominated by the eruption of mare basalt. 1) The main phase of mare volcanism began approx. 500 Myr after the crystallization of the anorthositic crust and continued for approx. l Gyr. 2) The picitic glasses, considered to be representative of mare basalt least affected by low pressure, near-surface fractionation, were generated by melting, at 400-600 km depth, of a source containing components that, on the basis of the magma ocean hypothesis, should have crystallized at much shallower depth during fractionation of the anorthositic crust. 3) Mare basalts occur primarily in one region of the Moon. Recent topographic data demonstrate that the earlier idea that mare basalt flooded areas of low elevation is not correct. Large areas of very low elevation do not contain mare basalt. The hemispheric asymmetry of mare basalt distribution on the lunar surface must be explained in some other way. 4) A region of the surface roughly correlating with that containing mare basalts also is thought to contain high subsurface concentrations of KREEP which was excavated during the formation of large impact basins. This so-called Procellarum KREEP Terrane (PKT) is responsible for the Imbrium basin-centered thorium anomaly mapped by Lunar Prospector.

Parmentier, E. Marc↗

NASA NTRS1993

Response of the topography and gravity field on Venus to mantle upwelling beneath a chemical boundary layer

The long wavelength correlation of the gravity and topography and the large apparent depths of compensation (approximately 150-300 km) for large highland regions on Venus require significant differences between the interior structure of Earth and Venus. The morphology, geologic history, and large apparent depths of compensation for many highlands have been interpreted to indicate areas of mantle upwelling. A large apparent depth of compensation at a mantle upwelling is generally interpreted to indicate the base of the thermal boundary layer of convection. A boundary layer thickness of 150-300 km implies that the interior of Venus is presently much colder than Earth and thus tectonically less active. The recent Magellan mission has provided contradictory evidence regarding the present level of tectonic activity on Venus, prompting considerable debate. In this study, we investigate the possibility that a chemical boundary layer acts together with a thermal boundary layer to produce large apparent depths of compensation, or equivalently, large geoid-to-topography-ratios (GTR's). The crust of a planet forms through partial melting of mantle materials. Both the melt and the residuum are lower in density than unmelted (or undepleted) mantle. In the absence of vigorous plate tectonics, a thick layer of buoyant residuum, or depleted mantle, may collect beneath the lithosphere. In this scenario, the thermal lithosphere does not need to be thick and cold to match the GTR's. Cooling of the depleted layer may lead to overturn of the upper mantle and episodic resurfacing with time scales on the order of 300-500 MY, consistent with the resurfacing age of Venus.

Smrekar, Suzanne E.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Mantle flow tectonics - The influence of a ductile lower crust and implications for the formation of topographic uplands on Venus

The crust and mantle of Venus can be represented by a model of a layered structure stratified in both density and viscosity. This structure consists of a brittle-elastic upper crustal layer; a ductile weaker crustal layer; a strong upper mantle layer, about 10 percent denser than the crust; and a weaker substrate, representing the portion of the mantle in which convective flow occurs which is a primary source of large-scale topographic and tectonic features. This paper examines the interactions between these four layers and the mantle flow driven by thermal or compositional variations. Solutions are found for a flow driven by a buoyancy-force distribution within the mantle and by relief at the surface and crust-mantle boundary. It is shown that changes in crustal thickness are driven by vertical normal stresses due to mantle flow and by shear coupling of horizontal mantle flow into the crust.

Bindschadler, Duane L.↗