[DSRP Evidence](https://dsrpevidence.org/)

# Graphite lubricates Mercury's global contraction

## Details

**Authors** Vergara Sassarini et al.

**Year** 2026

**Publisher** Nature Communications

**Discipline** Geology

**Secondary disciplines** Astronomy

[Read it at the publisher](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-75459-x) 
10.1038/s41467-026-75459-x

## In authors' words

### What they found (results)

Critical-taper analysis of Mercury's lobate scarps found fold-and-thrust-belt geometry consistent with weak, low-angle faults lubricated by a heterogeneously distributed graphite-bearing crustal layer, implying greater cumulative radial contraction than previously estimated.

## Commentary

### In short

A buried compositional layer nested within the crust mediates the causal link between interior cooling and the surface fault geometry actually observed.

**Patterns it shows** S, R

**Added** 2026-08-28

**How to cite this** Vergara Sassarini et al. (2026). Graphite lubricates Mercury's global contraction. Nature Communications.