Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- List of abbreviations
- Prologue
- 1The planets: their formation and differentiation
- 2A primary crust: the highland crust of the Moon
- 3A secondary crust: the lunar maria
- 4Mercury
- 5Mars: early differentiation and planetary composition
- 6Mars: crustal composition and evolution
- 7Venus: a twin planet to Earth?
- 8The oceanic crust of the Earth
- 9The Hadean crust of the Earth
- 10The Archean crust of the Earth
- 11The Post-Archean continental crust
- 12Composition and evolution of the continental crust
- 13Crusts on minor bodies
- 14Reflections: the elusive patterns of planetary crusts
- Indexes
- References
1 - The planets: their formation and differentiation
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 October 2009
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- List of abbreviations
- Prologue
- 1The planets: their formation and differentiation
- 2A primary crust: the highland crust of the Moon
- 3A secondary crust: the lunar maria
- 4Mercury
- 5Mars: early differentiation and planetary composition
- 6Mars: crustal composition and evolution
- 7Venus: a twin planet to Earth?
- 8The oceanic crust of the Earth
- 9The Hadean crust of the Earth
- 10The Archean crust of the Earth
- 11The Post-Archean continental crust
- 12Composition and evolution of the continental crust
- 13Crusts on minor bodies
- 14Reflections: the elusive patterns of planetary crusts
- Indexes
- References
Summary
Alphonso, King of Castille, … was ill seconded by the astronomers whom he had assembled at considerable expence (sic)…. Endowed with a correct judgement, Alphonso was shocked at the confusion of the circles, in which the celestial bodies were supposed to move. ‘If the Deity’ said he, ‘had asked my advice, these things would have been better arranged’
(Pierre-Simon Laplace)Planetary formation
Although this book is concerned with the crusts of the solid bodies in the Solar System, it is necessary to delve a little deeper into the interiors of the planets, to see how the planets themselves came to be formed and why they differ from one another. It is only possible to understand why and how crusts form on planets if we understand the reasons how these bodies came to be there in the first place and why they are all different from one another. Following 40 years of exploration of our own Solar System, the discovery of over 200 planets orbiting stars other than the Sun has brought the question of planetary origin and evolution into sharp focus. The detailed study of planets is in fact a very late event in science and has required the prior development of many other disciplines.
This highlights a basic problem in dealing with planets, at least in our Solar System, that are all quite different, so that it is difficult to extract some general principles that might be applicable to all of them.
Information
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Planetary CrustsTheir Composition, Origin and Evolution, pp. 5 - 31Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2008
References
and (2006) Barium isotopes in chondritic meteorites: Implications for planetary reservoir models. Science 314, 809–12CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
and (2006) Solar nebula heterogeneity in p-process samarium and neodymium isotopes. Science 314, 806–809CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Meteorites and the Early Solar System II (eds. and , 2006), University of Arizona PressGoogle Scholar
Meteorites, Comets and Planets. Treatise on Geochemistry, vol. 1 (ed. , 2004), ElsevierGoogle Scholar
Chondrules and the Protoplanetary Disk (eds. et al., 1996), Cambridge University PressGoogle Scholar
Encyclopedia of the Solar System, 2nd edn. (eds. et al., 2007), Academic Press–ElsevierGoogle Scholar
et al. (2001) Disk frequencies and lifetimes in young clusters. Astrophys. J. 553, L153–6CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (2004) The interior of Jupiter, in Jupiter (eds. et al.), Cambridge University Press, pp. 35–57Google Scholar
and (2007) Numerical viscosity and the survival of gas giant protoplanets in disk simulations. Astrophys. J. 654, L155–8CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (2002) The formation of Uranus and Neptune among Jupiter and Saturn. Astron. J. 121, 2862–83CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1988) Rapid formation of Jupiter by diffuse redistribution of water vapor in the solar nebula. Icarus 75, 146–155CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (2004) The origin of Jupiter, in Jupiter (eds. et al.), Cambridge University Press, pp. 19–34Google Scholar
et al. (2004) The interior of Jupiter, in Jupiter (eds. et al.), Cambridge University Press, pp. 35–57Google Scholar
and (1988) Chemical composition and accretion history of the terrestrial planets. Phil. Trans. Royal Soc. London A325, 545–57CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(2003) Large-ion lithophile element fractionation during the early differentiation of Mars and the composition of the Martian primitive mantle. Meteoritics and Planetary Science 38, 895–904CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (2006) Bulk composition and early differentiation of Mars. Journal of Geophysical Research 111Google Scholar
et al. (1996) Toward an astrophysical theory of chondrites. Science 271, 1545–52CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(2007) Outward transport of high-temperature materials around the mid-plane of the solar nebula. Science 318, 613–15Google Scholar
(2005) From dust to planets: The tale told by moderately volatile elements, in Chondrites and the Protoplanetary Disk. Astronomical Society Pacific Conference Series 341, pp. 632–44Google Scholar
et al. (2005) Early core formation in asteroids and late accretion of chondrite parent bodies: Evidence from 182Hf–182W in CAIs, metal rich chondrites and iron meteorites. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 69, 5805–18CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(2004) Planetary accretion in the inner solar system. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 223, 241–52CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (2004) The origin of Jupiter, in Jupiter (eds. et al.), Cambridge University Press, pp. 19–34Google Scholar
(2006) High-resolution simulations of the final assembly of Earth-like planets I. Terrestrial accretion and dynamics. Icarus 183, 265–82CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (2007) High-resolution simulations of the final assembly of Earth-like planets 2: water delivery and planetary habitability. Astrobiol. 7, 66–84CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
and (1990) Accretion of differentiated planetesimals to the Earth, in Origin of the Earth (eds. and ), Oxford University Press, pp. 29–43Google Scholar
et al. (1998) Non-chondritic meteorites from asteroidal bodies, in Planetary Materials (ed. ) Rev. Mineral. 36, Mineralology Society of America, pp. 4.103–4.130
and (2000) Timescales of planetesimal formation and differentiation based on extinct and extant radioisotopes, in Origin of the Earth and Moon (eds. and ), University of Arizona Press, pp. 25–44Google Scholar
et al. (2002) Lead isotopic ages of chondrules and calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions. Science 297, 1678–83CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
and (2001) Origin of the Moon in a giant impact near the end of the Earth's formation. Nature 412, 708–12CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2006) Meteorites and the timing, mechanisms and conditions of terrestrial planet accretion and early differentiation, in Meteorites and the Early Solar System II (eds. and ), University of Arizona Press, pp. 775–801Google Scholar
et al. (2000) Tungsten isotopes, the timing of metal–silicate fractionation, and the origin of the Earth and Moon, in Origin of the Earth and Moon (eds. and ), University of Arizona Press, pp. 45–62Google Scholar
(2005) The Hf–W isotopic system and the origin of the Earth and Moon. Ann. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 33, 531–70CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (2005) Hf–W chronometry and the age and early differentiation of the Moon. Science 310, 1671–4CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (2007) Late formation and prolonged differentiation of the Moon inferred from W isotopes in lunar metals. Nature 450, 1206–9CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(2007) Hierarchical Earth accretion and the Hadean Eon. J. Geol. Soc. London 164, p. 11CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2000) Accretion of the terrestrial planets and the Earth–Moon system, in Origin of the Earth and Moon (eds. and ), University of Arizona Press, p. 113Google Scholar
et al. (1998) Modeling the diversity of outer planetary systems. Astron. J. 116, 1998–2014CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2006) Constraints on the mass of a habitable planet with water of nebular origin. Astrophys. J. 648, 696–706CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (2000) Source regions and time scales for the delivery of water to Earth. Meteoritics and Planetary Science 35, 1309–20CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (2004) The origin of Jupiter, in Jupiter (eds. et al.), Cambridge University Press, pp. 19–34Google Scholar
(2006) Origin of water ice in the solar system, in Meteorites and the Early Solar System II (eds. and ), University of Arizona Press, pp. 309–319Google Scholar
et al. (2007) High-resolution simulations of the final assembly of Earth-like planets 2: Water delivery and planetary habitability. Astrobiol. 7, 66–84CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
and (2006) Atmospheric composition and climate on the early Earth. Phil. Trans. Royal Soc. B361, 1731–42Google Scholar
(2006) Physical conditions on the early Earth. Phil. Trans. Royal Soc. B361, 1721–31CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2002) Formation of the Galilean satellites: Conditions of accretion. Astron. J. 124, 3404–23CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2006) A common mass scaling for satellite systems of giant planets. Nature 441, 834–9CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1999) On the difficulties of making Earth-like planets. Meteoritics and Planetary Science 34, 317–29CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1998) Destiny or Chance: Our Solar System and its Place in the Cosmos, Cambridge University PressGoogle Scholar
et al. (2006) Compositional relationships between meteorites and terrestrial planets, in Meteorites and the Early Solar System II (eds. and ), University of Arizona Press, pp. 803–28Google Scholar
(1995) The integral enstatite chondrite model of the Earth. Geophysical Research Letters 22, 2219–22CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(2005) High pressure equations of state and planetary interiors. Rep. Prog. Phys. 68, 341–83CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1994) Large scale basaltic volcanism on the Moon, Mars and Venus, in Volcanism (Radhakrishna Vol.) (ed. ), Wiley Eastern, pp. 2–20Google Scholar
and (1997) Large igneous provinces: A planetary perspective, in Large Igneous Provinces: Continental, Oceanic and Planetary Flood Volcanism. American Geophysical Union, Geophysical Monograph 100, pp. 411–38Google Scholar
(1997) Abundance ratios and galactic chemical evolution. Ann. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 35, 503–56CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Accessibility standard: Unknown
Why this information is here
This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.Accessibility Information
Accessibility compliance for the PDF of this chapter is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.