Related papers: A past lunar dynamo thermally driven by the preces…
The spin axes of the mantle, fluid core and solid inner core of the Moon precess at frequency $\Omega_p=2\pi/18.6$ yr$^{-1}$ though with different orientations, leading to viscous friction at the core-mantle boundary (CMB) and inner core…
The Moon is known to have a small liquid core, and it is thought that in the distant past the core may have produced strong magnetic fields recorded in lunar samples. Here we implement a numerical model of lunar orbital and rotational…
We present a model of the precession dynamics of the Moon that comprises a fluid outer core and a solid inner core. We show that three Cassini states associated with the inner core exist. The tilt angle of the inner core in each of these…
We compute predictions of the deviation of Mercury's spin axis from an exact Cassini state caused by tidal dissipation, and viscous and electromagnetic (EM) friction at the core-mantle boundary (CMB) and inner core boundary (ICB). Viscous…
The Earth acts as a gigantic heat engine driven by decay of radiogenic isotopes and slow cooling, which gives rise to plate tectonics, volcanoes, and mountain building. Another key product is the geomagnetic field, generated in the liquid…
Analyses of Lunar Laser Ranging data show that the spin-symmetry axis of the Moon is ahead of its expected Cassini state by an angle of $\phi_p$ = 0.27 arcsec. This indicates the presence of one or more dissipation mechanisms acting on the…
Precession of planets or moons affects internal liquid layers by driving flows, instabilities and possibly dynamos.The energy dissipated by these phenomena can influence orbital parameters such as the planet's spin rate.However, there is no…
Seismic mapping of the top of the inner core indicates two distinct areas of high P-wave velocity, the stronger one located beneath Asia, and the other located beneath the Atlantic. This two-fold pattern supports the idea that a…
Inner core translation, with solidification on one hemisphere and melting on the other, provides a promising basis for understanding the hemispherical dichotomy of the inner core, as well as the anomalous stable layer observed at the base…
Lunar laser ranging (LLR) data and Apollo seismic data analyses, revealed independent evidence for the presence of a fluid lunar core. However, the size of the lunar fluid core remained uncertain by $\pm55$ km (encompassing two contrasting…
We used a thermal model of an iron core to calculate magnetodynamo evolution in Earth-mass rocky planets to determine the sensitivity of dynamo lifetime and intensity to planets with different mantle tectonic regimes, surface temperatures,…
As a planet ages it cools and its radius shrinks, at a rate set by the efficiency with which heat is transported from the interior out to space. The bottleneck for this transport is at the boundary between the convective interior and the…
To understand the evolution of the Moon, we numerically modeled mantle convection and magmatism in a two-dimensional polar rectangular mantle. Magmatism occurs as an upward permeable flow of magma generated by decompression melting through…
The process of lunar magma ocean solidification provides constraints on the properties of distinct chemical reservoirs in the lunar mantle that formed during the early evolution of the Moon. We use a combination of phase equilibria models…
Earth's geodynamo has operated for over 3.5 billion years. The magnetic field is currently powered by thermocompositional convection in the outer core, which involves the release of light elements and latent heat as the inner core…
Various theories have been proposed to explain the Moon's current inclined orbit. We test the viability of these theories by reconstructing the thermal-orbital history of the Moon. We build on past thermal-orbital models and incorporate the…
It has been suggested about 20 years ago that the liquid close to the inner core boundary (ICB) is supercooled and that a sizable mushy layer has developed during the growth of the inner core. The morphological instability of the…
We present a model of the Cassini state of Mercury that comprises an inner core, a fluid core and a mantle. Our model includes inertial and gravitational torques between interior regions, and viscous and electromagnetic (EM) coupling at the…
Parameterised by the Love number $k_2$ and the tidal quality factor $Q$, and inferred from lunar laser ranging (LLR), tidal dissipation in the Moon follows an unexpected frequency dependence often interpreted as evidence for a highly…
The rotational evolution of Mercury's mantle and its core under conservative and dissipative torques is important for understanding the planet's spin state. Dissipation results from tides and viscous, magnetic and topographic core--mantle…