Planetary Volcanism across the Solar System

About this book

Planetary Volcanism across the Solar System compares and contrasts the vast array of planetary bodies in the Solar System, including Earth. The wealth of spacecraft data for almost all major solid-surface bodies in the Solar System indicate that volcanism has been a dominant mechanism in shaping the landscapes of these bodies. The book addresses key questions surrounding our understanding of planetary volcanism, such as how to integrate the data into a coherent view of how volcanic activity arises, how this mechanism shapes planets, which volcanic landforms are ubiquitous throughout the Solar System, and which are unique. By placing a singular emphasis on comparing volcanic processes and landforms on all relevant Solar System bodies, and with the explicit objective of providing a systems-level understanding of this widespread phenomenon, users will find an up-to-date, accessible and comprehensive discussion of the major volcanic processes and landforms that shape and drive the evolution of planets, moons and smaller bodies.

Contents

Title page
Table of Contents
Copyright
Contributors
About the editors
Foreword

1. Volcanism in the Solar System
2. Effusive silicate volcanism: Observations and processes
3. Planetary volcanism: Craters, lava flows, fissures, and insights into their formation from observations of the April–August 2018 eruption of Kilauea Volcano, Hawai‘i
4. Explosive volcanism: Observations and processes
5 Cryovolcanism
6. The origin of magma on planetary bodies
7. Ages of planetary surfaces
8. Composition of planetary crusts and planetary differentiation
9. Volcanism in the Solar System: Review, synthesis, and some outstanding questions

Index

Customer Reviews

Biography

Tracy K.P. Gregg is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geology at the University at Buffalo in Buffalo, NY. Her primary research interest is lava flows, and she is not particular about where they are or their composition. She has done fieldwork on lava flows in Idaho, Peru, Iceland and Hawaii; as well as studied volcanic morphologies on Mars, the Moon, Venus, and Jupiter’s moon Io. She has personally investigated lavas at the East Pacific Rise and the Galapagos Spreading Center, more than 2500 m below sea level, from the safety of the submersible Alvin. She supervised the NASA Planetary Geology and Geophysics Undergraduate Research Program (PGGURP) for 20 years and is now helping to run its sequel (Summer Undergraduate Program in Planetary Research, or SUPPR). Tracy is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America (GSA) and was awarded the Ronald Greeley Award for Distinguished Service from the GSA Planetary Geology Division.

Rosaly M.C. Lopes is a Senior Research Scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where she is also Manager of the Planetary Science Section. An expert on planetary volcanism, she worked on the Galileo mission to Jupiter and is currently on the science team of the Cassini mission to Saturn. Her research expertise is on volcanoes in the Solar System, particularly the active volcanoes of Jupiter's moon Io and the ice volcanoes of Saturn's icy moons. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Geological Society of America, and the winner of the American Astronomical Society’s 2005 Carl Sagan Medal. She has published seven books and over one hundred and twenty peer-reviewed publications.

Sarah A. Fagents is a Researcher in the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She investigates volcanic features and eruption processes on the Earth and other planets and is a member of the science team of the upcoming Mars 2020 rover mission. Her publications cover a wide range of volcanic subject matter, including magma–water interactions, explosive volcanism on Mars and Venus, lava flow dynamics and heat transfer, and cryovolcanism on Jupiter’s moon Europa. She shares her enthusiasm for planetary volcanism with the public whenever possible.