Geophysical evolution of planetary interiors and surfaces : Moon & Mars

The interiors and surfaces of the terrestrial planetary bodies provide us a unique opportunity to gain insight into planetary evolution, particularly in the early stages subsequent to accretion. Both Mars and the Moon are characterized by well-preserved and ancient surfaces, that preserve a record of geological and geophysical processes that have operated both at the surface and in the interior. With accessibility to orbital and landed spacecraft, the Moon and Mars have a unique qualitative and quantitative role in understanding and constraining the evolution of solid planets in our Solar System, as well as the timing of its many major events. In this thesis I use gravity and topography data to investigate aspects of the surface and interior evolution of the Moon and Mars that include aspects of major processes: impact, volcanism, erosion and internal dynamics.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2013

Author dc:creator

• Evans, Alexander Joseph

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Maria T. Zuber.

• Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/84919

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/84919