Publication: Amplitude of heat flow variations on Mars from possible shoreline topography
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2003-11-20
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American Geophysical Union
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Abstract
Analyses of the effective elastic thickness of the Martian lithosphere have been
previously used to calculate surface heat flow on Mars at different places and times. In this
work, I use elevation differences in a putative Late Hesperian shoreline, named
Deuteronilus shoreline, and the relation between thermal state and buoyancy of the
lithosphere, in order to estimate the amplitude of the variations of surface heat flow on
Mars, probably related to the time in which this feature was formed. The results suggest
that, if the Deuteronilus shoreline is a true paleo-equipotential surface, the relative
amplitude of surface heat flow variations on the shoreline regions in the Late Hesperian
were less than present-day ones in terrestrial continental areas. The results are also roughly
valid for the outer contact of the Late Hesperian Vastitas Borealis Formation, if this
contact is related to the limits of an ancient ocean. These results could imply that large
areas of the Martian lithosphere have been tectonothermally stable since at least that
time.