Less than one weight percent of graphite on the surface of Mercury

Xu, Rui; Xiao, Zhiyong; Wang, Yichen; Cui, Jun

doi:10.1038/s41550-023-02169-5

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2024

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“…Measurements by neutron and gamma-ray spectroscopy quantified the abundance of carbon in the crust to ca. 2–4 wt% 2 , 3 , although a recent reinvestigation of the data suggests lower concentrations (<1 wt.%) 4 . The close association of graphite with lower crustal material observed in deep craters supports an endogenous origin for graphite 5 , 6 and rules out major exogeneous contributions by comets 7 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

A diamond-bearing core-mantle boundary on Mercury

Xu,

Lin,

et al. 2024

Nat Commun

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Abundant carbon was identified on Mercury by MESSENGER, which is interpreted as the remnant of a primordial graphite flotation crust, suggesting that the magma ocean and core were saturated in carbon. We re-evaluate carbon speciation in Mercury’s interior in light of the high pressure-temperature experiments, thermodynamic models and the most recent geophysical models of the internal structure of the planet. Although a sulfur-free melt would have been in the stability field of graphite, sulfur dissolution in the melt under the unique reduced conditions depressed the sulfur-rich liquidus to temperatures spanning the graphite-diamond transition. Here we show it is possible, though statistically unlikely, that diamond was stable in the magma ocean. However, the formation of a solid inner core caused diamond to crystallize from the cooling molten core and formation of a diamond layer becoming thicker with time.

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