%0 Journal Article
%A Ruiz Pérez, Javier
%T Amplitude of heat flow variations on Mars from possible shoreline topography
%D 2003
%@ 0148-0227
%U https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/49327
%X Analyses of the effective elastic thickness of the Martian lithosphere have beenpreviously used to calculate surface heat flow on Mars at different places and times. In thiswork, I use elevation differences in a putative Late Hesperian shoreline, namedDeuteronilus shoreline, and the relation between thermal state and buoyancy of thelithosphere, in order to estimate the amplitude of the variations of surface heat flow onMars, probably related to the time in which this feature was formed. The results suggestthat, if the Deuteronilus shoreline is a true paleo-equipotential surface, the relativeamplitude of surface heat flow variations on the shoreline regions in the Late Hesperianwere less than present-day ones in terrestrial continental areas. The results are also roughlyvalid for the outer contact of the Late Hesperian Vastitas Borealis Formation, if thiscontact is related to the limits of an ancient ocean. These results could imply that largeareas of the Martian lithosphere have been tectonothermally stable since at least thattime.
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