explosive volcanic eruptions on mercury eruption conditions,.pdfVIP

Earth and Planetary Science Letters 285 (2009) 263–271 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Earth and Planetary Science Letters journal homepage: www.el sevier.c om/l o cate/ epsl Explosive volcanic eruptions on Mercury: Eruption conditions, magma volatile content, and implications for interior volatile abundances Laura Kerber a,⁎, James W. Head a, Sean C. Solomon b, Scott L. Murchie c, David T. Blewett c, Lionel Wilson d a Geological Sciences Department, Brown University, 324 Brook Street, Box 1846, Providence, RI 02912, USA b Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5241 Broad Branch Road, N.W., Washington, DC 20015, USA c The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD 20723, USA d Environmental Science Department, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Article history: Images obtained by the MESSENGER spacecraft have revealed evidence for pyroclastic volcanism on Mercury. Accepted 27 April 2009 Because of the importance of this inference for understanding the interior volatile inventory of Mercury, we Available online 29 May 2009 focus on one of the best examples determined to date: a shield-volcano-like feature just inside the south- Editor: T. Spohn western rim of the Caloris impact basin characterized by a near-central, irregularly shaped depression sur- rounded by a bright deposit interpreted to have a pyroclastic origin. This candidate pyroclastic de