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To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2009.01.020 Byline: M. Grott, D. Breuer Keywords: Mars; Mars; interior; Thermal histories; Geophysics Abstract: The martian elastic lithosphere thickness T.sub.e has recently been constrained by modeling the geodynamical response to loading at the martian polar caps and T.sub.e was found to exceed 300 km at the north pole today. Geological evidence suggests that Mars has been volcanically active in the recent past and we have reinvestigated the martian thermal evolution, identifying models which are consistent with T.sub.e300km and the observed recent magmatic activity. We find that although models satisfying both constraints can be constructed, special assumptions regarding the concentration and distribution of radioactive elements, the style of mantle convection and/or the mantle's volatile content need to be made. If a dry mantle rheology is assumed, strong plumes caused by, e.g., a strongly pressure dependent mantle viscosity or endothermic phase transitions near the core-mantle boundary are required to allow for decompression melting in the heads of mantle plumes. For a wet mantle, large mantle water contents of the order of 1000 ppm are required to allow for partial mantle melting. Also, for a moderate crustal enrichment of heat producing, elements the planet's bulk composition needs to be 25 and 50% sub-chondritic for dry and wet mantle rheologies, respectively. Even then, models resulting in a globally averaged elastic thicknesses of T.sub.e300 km are difficult to reconcile with most elastic thickness estimates available for the Hesperian and Amazonian periods. It therefore seems likely that large elastic thicknesses in excess of 300 km are not representative for the bulk of the planet and that T.sub.e possibly shows a large degree of spatial heterogeneity. Author Affiliation: Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), RutherfordstraAe 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany Article History: Received 22 July 2008; Revised 15 January 2009; Accepted 23 January 2009

Context. Plate tectonics is considered a fundamental component for the habitability of the Earth. Yet whether it is a recurrent feature of terrestrial bodies orbiting other stars or unique to the Earth is unknown. The stagnant lid may rather be the most common tectonic expression on such bodies. Aims. To understand whether a stagnant-lid planet can be habitable, i.e. host liquid water at its surface, we model the thermal evolution of the mantle, volcanic outgassing of H2O and CO2, and resulting climate of an Earth-like planet lacking plate tectonics. Methods. We used a 1D model of parameterized convection to simulate the evolution of melt generation and the build-up of an atmosphere of H2O and CO2 over 4.5 Gyr. We then employed a 1D radiative-convective atmosphere model to calculate the global mean atmospheric temperature and the boundaries of the habitable zone (HZ). Results. The evolution of the interior is characterized by the initial production of a large amount of partial melt accompanied by a rapid outgassing of H2O and CO2. The maximal partial pressure of H2O is limited to a few tens of bars by the high solubility of water in basaltic melts. The low solubility of CO2 instead causes most of the carbon to be outgassed, with partial pressures that vary from 1 bar or less if reducing conditions are assumed for the mantle to 100-200 bar for oxidizing conditions. At 1 au, the obtained temperatures generally allow for liquid water on the surface nearly over the entire evolution. While the outer edge of the HZ is mostly influenced by the amount of outgassed CO2, the inner edge presents a more complex behaviour that is dependent on the partial pressures of both gases. Conclusions. At 1 au, the stagnant-lid planet considered would be regarded as habitable. The width of the HZ at the end of the evolution, albeit influenced by the amount of outgassed CO2, can vary in a non-monotonic way depending on the extent of the outgassed H2O reservoir. Our results suggest that stagnant-lid planets can be habitable over geological timescales and that joint modelling of interior evolution, volcanic outgassing, and accompanying climate is necessary to robustly characterize planetary habitability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In the present work, we investigate the influence of partial melting on mantle dynamics, crustal formation, and volcanic outgassing of a one-plate planet using a 2D mantle convection code. When melt is extracted to form crust, the mantle material left behind is more buoyant than its parent material and depleted in radioactive heat sources. The extracted heat-producing elements are then enriched in the crust, which also has an insulating effect due to its lower thermal conductivity compared to the mantle. In addition, partial melting can influence the mantle rheology through the dehydration (water depletion) of the mantle material by volcanic outgassing. As a consequence, the viscosity of water-depleted regions increases more than two orders of magnitude compared to water-saturated rocks resulting in slower cooling rates. The most important parameter influencing the thermo-chemical evolution is the assumed density difference between the primitive and the depleted mantle material (i.e., between peridotite and harzburgite). With small or negligible values of compositional buoyancy, crustal formation including crustal delamination is very efficient, also resulting in efficient processing and degassing of the mantle. The convecting mantle below the stagnant lid depletes continuously with time. In contrast, with increasing compositional buoyancy, crustal formation and mantle degassing are strongly suppressed although partial melting is substantially prolonged in the thermal evolution. The crust shows strong lateral variations in thickness, and crustal delamination is reduced and occurs only locally. Furthermore, two to four different mantle reservoirs can form depending on the initial temperature distribution. Two of these reservoirs can be sustained during the entire evolution – a scenario possibly valid for Mars as it may explain the isotope characteristic of the Martian meteorites. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Lacking plate tectonics and crustal recycling, the long-term evolution of the crust-mantle system of Mars is driven by mantle convection, partial melting, and silicate differentiation. Volcanic landforms such as lava flows, shield volcanoes, volcanic cones, pyroclastic deposits, and dikes are observed on the martian surface, and while activity was widespread during the late Noachian and Hesperian, volcanism became more and more restricted to the Tharsis and Elysium provinces in the Amazonian period. Martian igneous rocks are predominantly basaltic in composition, and remote sensing data, in-situ data, and analysis of the SNC meteorites indicate that magma source regions were located at depths between 80 and 150 km, with degrees of partial melting ranging from 5 to 15 %. Furthermore, magma storage at depth appears to be of limited importance, and secular cooling rates of 30 to 40 K Gyr were derived from surface chemistry for the Hesperian and Amazonian periods. These estimates are in general agreement with numerical models of the thermo-chemical evolution of Mars, which predict source region depths of 100 to 200 km, degrees of partial melting between 5 and 20 %, and secular cooling rates of 40 to 50 K Gyr. In addition, these model predictions largely agree with elastic lithosphere thickness estimates derived from gravity and topography data. Major unknowns related to the evolution of the crust-mantle system are the age of the shergottites, the planet's initial bulk mantle water content, and its average crustal thickness. Analysis of the SNC meteorites, estimates of the elastic lithosphere thickness, as well as the fact that tidal dissipation takes place in the martian mantle indicate that rheologically significant amounts of water of a few tens of ppm are still present in the interior. However, the exact amount is controversial and estimates range from only a few to more than 200 ppm. Owing to the uncertain formation age of the shergottites it is unclear whether these water contents correspond to the ancient or present mantle. It therefore remains to be investigated whether petrologically significant amounts of water of more than 100 ppm are or have been present in the deep interior. Although models suggest that about 50 % of the incompatible species (HO, K, Th, U) have been removed from the mantle, the amount of mantle differentiation remains uncertain because the average crustal thickness is merely constrained to within a factor of two. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Motivation: The most likely places for finding life outside the Solar System are rocky planets, some of which may have surface conditions allowing for liquid water, one of the major prerequisites for life. Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), play an important role for the surface temperature and, thus, the habitability of an extrasolar planet. The amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is in part determined by their outgassing from the interior. Method: We use a two-dimensional convection model to calculate partial melting and the amount of CO2 outgassed for Earth-sized stagnant-lid planets. By varying the planetary mass, we investigate the evolution of a secondary atmosphere dependent on the interior structure (different ratio of planetary to core radius). We further study the likelihood for plate tectonics depending on the interior structure and investigate the influence of plate tectonics on outgassing. Results: We find that for stagnant-lid planets the relative size of the iron core has a large impact on the production of partial melt because a variation in the interior structure changes the pressure gradient and thereby the melting temperature of silicate rocks with depth. As a consequence, for planets with a large core (a radius of at least 70–75% of the planet′s radius), outgassing from the interior is strongly reduced in comparison to a planet with the same radius but a small core. This finding suggests that the outer edge of the habitable zone of a star not only depends on the distance from the star and thus the solar influx but also is further limited by small outgassing for stagnant-lid planets with a high average density, indicating a high iron content (e.g. Mercury and the recently detected exoplanets Kepler-10b and CoRoT-7b). This contradicts previous models that have assumed CO2 reservoirs being in principle unlimited for all planets. If plate tectonics is initiated, several tens of bars of CO2 can be outgassed in a short period of time – even for planets with a large iron core – and the outer boundary of the habitable zone is not influenced by the interior structure. It is, however, more difficult for planets with a thin mantle (in our test case, with a thickness of 10% of the planet′s radius) to initiate plate tectonics. Our results indicate that the interior structure may strongly influence the amount of CO2 in planetary atmospheres and, thereby, the habitability of rocky planets. To obtain better constraints on the interior structure accurate measurements of size and mass are necessary. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]