PLANETARY CRUSTS: THEIR COMPOSITION, ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION

STUART ROSS TAYLOR

, Department of Earth and Marine Sciences Australian National University Canberra, Australia

. AND ' SCOTT M. McLENNAN

Department of Geosciences State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY, USA

. . .

CAMBRIDGE
UNIVERSITY PRESS

Contents

Preface Acknowledgments List of abbreviations Prologue . Notes and references ' The planets: their formation and differentiation 1.1 Planetary formation . 1.2 The solar nebula and the giant planets ' 1.2.1 The depletion ofthe volatile elements in the inner nebula 1.3 Planetesimals and the accretion of the terrestrial planets 1.4 The random nature of terrestrial planet formation 1.4.1 Meteorites and planetary composition 1.4.2 Uncompressed density and bulk planetary compositions 1.5 Types of crusts 1-.6 Geochemical processes during crust formation 1.6.1 Europium as a universal tracer Synopsis Notes and references A primary crust: the highland crust of the Moon . 2.1 The composition of the Moon 2.2 The lunar surface 2.3 Structure of the crust ''-' 2.3.1 Tectonics 2.3^2 Lunar stratigraphy' 2.4 Craters and multiring basins 2.4.1 A lunar cataclysm? 2.5 Composition ofthe lunar highland crust

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xxii 1 4. 5 5 8 11 14 18 20 21 .22 .23 25 26 27

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32 36 .37 38 38 40 42
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2.5.1 2.5.2 2.5.3 2.5.4 2.5.5 2.5.6

Anorthosites . KREEP TheMg-suite . . Lunar highland terranes The Cayley Plains: a cautionary tale Tektites and the Moon
. . . '

'

'

Synopsis

Notes and references A secondary crust: the lunar maria 3.1 The maria 3.1.1 Mare basalt ages . 3.2 Composition ofthe mare basalts 3.2.1 The interior ofthe Moon . 3.3 Origin of the mare basalts . 3.3.1 An impact origin? 3.4 The magma ocean 3.4.1 The depletion in europium 3.4.2 Depth1 of melting 3.5 Large-impact model for lunar origin Synopsis , Notes and references " Mercury ' 4.1 The planet - 4.1.1 The composition and internal structureof Mercury 4.2 Origin of Mercury 4.3 Surface structure 4.311 The heavily cratered terrain 4.3.2 The intercrater plains 4.3.3 The Caloris Basin: a mercurian cataclysm? 4.3.4 The smooth plains 4.4 The origin ofthe plains: a Cayley Plains analog? 4.4.1 Lobate scarps 4.5 The crust of Mercury 4.5.1 Primary and secondary crusts on Mercury? 4.5.2 Atmosphere Synopsis Notes and references Mars: early differentiation and planetary composition 5.1 The origin of Mars 5.1.1 A volatile-rich and oxidized planet

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5.2

5.3 5.4

5.5 5.6

5.7 5.8 5.9

The interior of Mars 5.2.1 Core 5.2.2 Mantle. 5.2.3 Crust Martian stratigraphy Cratering record and the age ofthe martian surface 5.4.1 Crustal dichotomy 5.4.2 Quasi-circular depressions 5.4.3 Tharsis and Valles Marineris Early plate tectonics? 5.5.1 Crustal magnetization and plate tectonics Samples from Mars 5.6.1 Martian meteorites 5.6.2 Shergottite crystallization ages Early differentiation on Mars and magma oceans Multiple reservoirs and the age ofthe earliest crust The composition of Mars 5.9.1 A cautionary note
Synopsis .

Notes and references . - Mars : crustal composition and evolution 6.1 . Sampling martian crust 6.2 Crustal dimensions 6.2.1 Hypsometry _ 6.3 Igneous diversity in a basaltic crust 6.3.1 SNC meteorites and crustal contamination 6.3.2 Hemispheric dichotomy, Surface Types 1 and 2 and martian andesites 6.3.3 Gusev plains and Meridiani Planum 6.3.4 Alkaline volcanism and the Columbia Hills 6.4 The sedimentary rock cycle on Mars 6.4.1 Water, wind and ice 6.4.2 Surficial processes 6.4.3 ' Soils and dust 6.4.4 Sedimentary rocks on Mars 6.4.5 Meteoritic components 6.5 Bulk composition of the crust 6.5.1 Compositional evolution of the martian surface 6.6 Heat flow and crustal heat production 6.6.1 Compositional variation with depth

104 105 106 108 108 110 111 111 112 114 114 115 115 121 122 125 126 130 131 132 141 141 142 143 144 146 148 150 150 . 152 152 155 157 159 162
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Crustal evolution on Mars ' ' 168 6.7.1 Tertiary crusts on Mars? 170 Synopsis 171 Notes and references 172 Venus: a twin planet to Earth? 181 7.V The enigma of Venus 181 7.2 Surface features of Venus 182 7.2.1 Plains , 182 7.2.2 Channels ' , 183 7.2.3 Volcanoes 184 7.2.4 Coronae * 185 7.2.5 Tesserae ' 186 7.2.6 Ishtar Terra and Aphrodite Terra . . 186 7.3 Impact craters and the age ofthe surface 186 7.4 Heat production and rates of volcanism 190 7.4.1 A one-plate planet ' 191 7.5 Crustal composition 192 7.5.1 .Pancake domes: rhyolites on Venus? . 194 7.5.2 The differentiation of Venus 196 7.6 The geological history of Venus ' . ' 197 7.6.1 Water on Venus 199 Synopsis > 201 Notes and references . 202 The oceanic crust of the Earth 207 8.1 The sea floor and plate tectonics . 207 8.2 Structure ofthe oceanic crust 208 8.3 Mid-ocean ridges 209 8.3.1 Formation processes at mid-ocean ' ridges ' ' .211 8.4 Mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) 211 8.4.1 Interaction with seawater ,: ' 215 8.5 Oceanic island basalts (OIB) 216 8.6 Composition ofthe oceanic crust 217 8.7 Mantle structure . . 2 1 8 8.7.1 Mantle plumes 220 8.8 Compositiotfof the Earth . ' . 222 8.8.1 Core 223 8.8.2 Mantle . ' ' . . 2 2 3 Synopsis _ , ~ 226 Notes and references 227

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The Hadean crust ofthe Earth ' . 9.1 The Hadean crust and mantle 9.2 A terrestrial magma ocean 9.3 . The early crust : ' .. . 9.3.1 The bombardment record 9.4 The early continental crustal myth 9^5 Isotopic constraints: 142Nd and 176Lu 9.5.1 Mantle keels in the Hadean? 9.6 A model for the Hadean Synopsis Notes and references ' . 10 The Archean crust of the Earth 10.1 The Archean 10.1.1 The earliest Archean rocks 10.1.2 Akilia island, southwest Greenland 10.2 The Archean.upper crust 10.2.1 Archean high-grade terrains 10.3 The Archean bulk crust 10.3.1 The Archean oceanic crust 10.3.2 Heat flow in the Archean 10.4 The formation of the TTG suite 10.4.1 Adakites and the TTG suite 10.4.2 The evidence from sanukitoids 10.5 Plate tectonics in the Archean? 10.5.1 The subcrustal lithosphere and mantle keels 10.6 Meteorite impacts in the Archean Synopsis Notes and references1 11 The Post-Archean continental crust 11.1 The Archean-Proterozoic transition 11.2 Changes in crustal composition during the Archean-Proterozoic transition 11.3 The Post-Archean upper crust -11.3.1 Paradoxes: niobium and lead 11.4 The lower crust (Post-Archean) 11.4.1 Anorthosites ^ Synopsis Appendices

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Area, thickness and densiiy of the present continental crust 290 Age ofthe continental crust - - " 291 Sedimentary rocks as crustal samples , .292 Notes and references . . . . 293 12 Composition and evolution ofthe continental crust . 301 12.1 Heat flow constraints 302 12.2 Composition ofthe bulk crust . 304 12.3 The andesite model 305 12.3.1 Delamination and its problems 306 12.3.2 The formation of andesites 307 12.3.3 Granites and granites .309 12.4 . Alternatives: basaltic compositions 311 12.5 Alternatives: felsic compositions " 312 12.6 Crustal growth and its episodic nature 313 " 12.6.1 The freeboard constraint 313 12.6.2 Recycling ... 314 12.6.3 Continental break-up and assembly 315 Synopsis '. . .' ' 316 Notes and references 317 \13 Crusts on minor bodies 325 13.1 Minor bodies in the Solar System 325 13.2 Observational problems 327 13.2.1 Nanophase iron . .328 13.2.2 Eros and Itokawa 329 13.3 Vesta, a differentiated asteroid 330 13.3.1 Evolution of Vesta 331 13.3.2 Eucrites and the Moon 332 13.4 The Galilean satellites . 332 13.5 The extraordinary crust of Io 333 13:5.1 Volcanic activity 333 13.5.2 Mountains -.-. 335 13.5.3 Nature ofthe crust 335 13.6 The thick icy crust of Europa 337 13.7 Two crusts on Ganymede 338 13.8 Calh'sto, an ancient crust 339. 13.9 Sand dunes on Titan 340 13.10 Nitrogen ice on Triton . 343 Synopsis . ' 344 Notes and references . 345

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14 Reflections: the elusive patterns of planetary crusts 14 1 Too many variables . 14.1.1 Sampling 14.2 Earth-like planets elsewhere? 14 3 planetary evolution and plate tectonics Notes and references Indexes

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