Patterns of scalloped-edged cliffs or lobate scarps on Mercury's surface are thrust faults that are consistent with the planet shrinking and cooling with time.
However, compression occurred in the planet's early history and Mariner 10 images revealed decades ago that lobate scarps are among the youngest features on Mercury.
Why don't we find more evidence of older compressive features?
early historyMercury's shifting, rolling pastEurekAlert! - Mathematics and Statistics Sun, 03/16/2008 - 23:00
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