Landforms and Processes of Other Planets

Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and neptune. Also included are some of the moons of these planets, the earth's moon, and the planetary body pluto. Fig 1.1-1.3 pg 6-8 Fig 25.26 pg 754

Impact cratering was the dominant process in early history of all planets and planetary bodies.

Inner planets, Outer planets, and Planetary bodies

Mercury, venus, earth, and mars small, rocky bodies of silicates and iron, with solid surfaces and cores. many have some sort of atmosphere

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune Large balls of gases, primarily the H and He. Lacking any solid surfaces, but cores of silicates, metal, and/or water ice

Pluto and most of the moons of the arious planets.   Ice covering (water, ammonia, or methane). denser silicate or metal cores (see table 25.1 pg 728)

Surface covered by the features of impact craters. vast plains of fluid basaltic lava (volcanism) No evidence of mo,dification by water(fluvial), ice(glacial), or wind(eolian) processes.

Covered by thick clouds of sulfuric acid in an atmosphere of carbon dioxide surface, known from radar images, is similar to earth with volcanic plains, mountain belts, volcanoes, high "continents" or plateaus. (fig 25.12 pg 739) Little evidence of cratering, but of a relatively young surface (<500 million years) (Fig 25.13 pg 741) evidence of some eolian and mass movement processes and tectonic activity. BUT colvanic features dominate the landscape of venus, 80% of surface is volcanic plains.

Southern hemisphere is heavily cratered. the northern hemisphere has craters covered by other processes. there is evidence of modification by volcanic fluvial, eolian, mass movement, and tectonic processes. the eolian processes are now the dominant factor in altering the surface. One of the largest volcanoes in the solar system is here...olympus mons, 700km across, 23 km high (Fig 25.8, 25.9, 25.7, 25.10 pg 736-7)

Crater highlands surface: the result of bombardment 4 billion years before people. smooth lower regions: the result of large floods of basaltic lava some 4-3 bybp (after cratering) Fig 25.4 pg 732 Some structural deformation which formed grabens. BUT no modification by wind, water, or ice....look over "state of the art" on pg 733 (fig 25.27 pg 755)

These planets do not exhibit geomorphic-like pocesses since they do not have solid surfaces for wind, water, ice, etc to work on, but many of their moons do.

Fig 25.14 pg 743 No solid surface, but outer layers of gaseous hydrogen (H) and helium (He). The core is earth-sized mass of silicates and metals Of jupiter's sixteen moons, 4 inner moons, L0, europa, ganymede, and callisto are geologically active.

An area of swirling cyclonic winds basically stationary in position (fig 25.29 pg 747)

(Fig 25.18 pg 747) Similar to jupiter. giant ball of gases covering a "solid core". 18 moons saturatd with impact craters (fig 25.19 pg 748) high winds blow clouds/gas around as on jupiter

(Fig 25.20 pg 749) No solid surface but a solid core covered by thick atmosphere of H and He, like jupiter and saturn. Five major moons have created surfaces of ice water.