Waned mantle upwelling contributes to a heavily deformed northern smooth plains on Mercury

Waned mantle upwelling contributes to a heavily deformed northern smooth plains on Mercury | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Waned mantle upwelling contributes to a heavily deformed northern smooth plains on Mercury Yan Zhan, Jingchun Xie, Shengxia Gong, ChengLi Huang, Jian Zhang This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8588941/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Recent discoveries of young contractional landforms and grabens indicate that tectonic activity in Mercury's northern smooth plains (NSP) has persisted into geologically recent times. To investigate the mechanisms sustaining this extended activity, we conduct a comprehensive assessment of contractional strain across the NSP. Our analysis reveals that (1) the NSP exhibits higher strain than other terrane on Mercury, and (2) the surface deformation pattern is spatially correlated with the Northern Rise (NR) at the center of the NSP, suggesting an additional driving force. We hereby propose that this higher strain and its distribution result from waned mantle upwelling induced by deep mantle flows beneath the NR. Sustained variations in dynamic topography likely fueled the long-standing tectonism in the NSP. These findings provide new perspectives on Mercury's evolution and underscore the importance of regional processes in shaping planetary tectonics. Earth and environmental sciences/Planetary science/Geodynamics Earth and environmental sciences/Planetary science/Tectonics Mercury (planet) Northern Smooth Plains Contractional Structures Mantle Upwelling Numerical Modeling Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8588941","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":574438758,"identity":"8d325904-4e94-4207-b0c8-88386d1e3b29","order_by":0,"name":"Yan 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