Graphite lubricates Mercury’s global contraction
Natalia A VERGARA SASSARINI, Matteo MASSIRONI, Telemaco TESEI, Andrea BISTACCHI · 2026
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Description
Natalia Vergara Sassarini and colleagues argue graphite greased Mercury's shrinking crust, in work from 2026. Cooling shrank Mercury, folding its crust into ridges above thrust faults worldwide. How those faults moved stayed murky, since friction sets the wedge shapes seen today.
Wedge geometry plus lab friction data cap the base friction under big belts. The shapes fit weak graphite bearing fault zones that dip at low angles. That fit backs tales of an early graphite crust floating on the young planet. Scattered leftovers of that layer later weakened wide crust zones during shrinking. Total shrinkage may thus exceed past cautious estimates by a fair margin.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Natalia A VERGARA SASSARINI, Matteo MASSIRONI, Telemaco TESEI, Andrea BISTACCHI |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 37 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |