What composition is hypothesized for the ancient liquid material whose freezing and expansion may have formed Mercury's chaotic terrain?
Answer
Salty liquid water or brine
The chaotic terrain observed beneath Mercury's surface, marked by jumbled blocks and depressions, is theorized to have formed due to the freezing and subsequent expansion of material that once existed deep beneath the crust. The leading hypothesis posits that this material was ancient, salty liquid water or brine. If this interpretation is accurate, it suggests Mercury once had substantial subsurface liquid reservoirs. Such a sustained, insulated liquid environment could have provided a stable thermal regime, potentially allowing microbial life to arise or persist for a duration that surface conditions could never support.
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