EarthRef.org Reference Database (ERR)
Development and Maintenance by the EarthRef.org Database Team

Detailed Reference Information
Murchie & Head 1988
Murchie, S.L. and Head, J.W. (1988). Possible breakup of dark terrain on Ganymede by large-scale shear faulting. Journal of Geophysical Research 93: doi: 10.1029/88JB00427. issn: 0148-0227.

A system of arcuate furrows in Galileo Regio and Marius Regio, two large blocks of ancient dark terrain, has previously been proposed to be the remnant of an originally more concentric furrow set that was disrupted by shear. Estimates of the two regions' poles of furrow concentricity indicate a considerable westward offset of the Galileo Regio pole. These measurements suggest the possibility of about 500 km of left-lateral offset of the two areas; four additional, independent structural indicators support this hypothesis. There is evidence that shear deformation was concentrated along a major structural lineament which closely follows a small circle about 45¿ of arc of radius which encloses Galileo Regio, and that a smaller amount of distributed shear occurred across an adjacent 500- to 1500-km-wide band. There is also morphologic evidence for zones of minor right-lateral shear between central and southern Marius Regio and between Barnard and Nicholson Regio, and for a zone of minor left-lateral shear in Nun Sulci. Stratigraphic relations indicate that any major shear offsets occurred before and during the earliest stages of grooved terrain formation, before most grooves had formed and before virtually all light material had been emplaced. However, regionally dominant groove orientations are generally consistent with orientations expected for transtensional features: Either shear strain or the shear's driving mechanism may have had a long-term effect on patterns of deformation of Ganymede's lithosphere. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1988

BACKGROUND DATA FILES

Abstract

Keywords
Planetology, Solid Surface Planets, Surface materials and properties, Planetology, Solid Surface Planets, Tectonics, Planetology, Solid Surface Planets, Origin and evolution
Journal
Journal of Geophysical Research
http://www.agu.org/journals/jb/
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
2000 Florida Avenue N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009-1277
USA
1-202-462-6900
1-202-328-0566
service@agu.org
Click to clear formClick to return to previous pageClick to submit