Welcome!

     

    Welcome to the Surface and Environment Interaction Studies (SEIS) Group !

    The aim of SEIS is to maximize our understanding of the Hermean surface science through interdisciplinary collaborations in support to the BepiColombo mission. You work or want to work on Mercury's surface/environment? Join us!

    About SEIS

    SEIS is a subgroup of the BepiColombo Young Scientist Study Group (BCYSSG) officially launched during the 20th BepiColombo Science Working Team (SWT) meeting on April 24, 2020. The aim of SEIS is to bring together the potential of an interdisciplinary approach through collaborations among motivated scientists of various research backgrounds to maximize our understanding of Hermean surface science in support of the BepiColombo mission. Thus, the studies of this group examine the effects of compositional and physical properties of the Hermean surface due to a product of an interplay of solar wind interaction, larger impactors and cratering mechanisms, and interactions with internal magnetic fields. Interactions between the Hermean surface and its environment makes these actors also change individually.

     

     

    SEIS encapsulates broad scientific interests, which include but are not limited to: 

    • Mercury’s internal magnetic field, magnetosphere-surface-exosphere interaction including space weathering, particle dynamics and precipitation;
    • Mercury’s surface properties: temperature, mineralogy, processes, physical properties (roughness, grain size, porosity);
    • Mercury’s volatiles: polar deposits, hollows; 
    • Mercury’s geology: tectonics, volcanism, impact cratering, stratigraphy, geological mapping, and 3D surface reconstruction;

     

     

    Combined together SEIS aims to answer questions about the planet’s formation and evolution using ground-based, remote sensing, in situ observations, modeling, and field analogue studies. The group will collectively work towards the selection of targets with high-priority science objectives to aid BepiColombo mission planning. The group has currently outlined about ten different projects of major scientific interest for the study of surface-environment interactions.

     

     

    Projects

    Science Topic

    Science Question

    Leader

    Mercury's volatiles

    What can we learn about volatile-driven processes on Mercury before BepiColombo?

    Jack Wright (European Space Agency)

    Mercury's volcanism

    What we can learn and what it might tell us about Mercury?

    Océane Barraud (German Aerospace Center)

    Surface composition

    What is the chemical composition of the surface and its evolution (e.g., space-weathering)?

    Nicolas Bott (Purdue University)

    ML spectroscopy

    What is the mineralogy of the Mercury’s surface?

    Indhu Varatharajan (Stony Brook University)

    Crustal magnetic field interaction

    Are charged particles behaving differently near the known weak crustal magnetic fields?

    Joana Oliveira (Telespazio UK for ESA)

    Magnetospheric field aligned currents

    How do characteristics of Mercury's surface affect the properties of the magnetospheric  field-aligned currents?

    Ryan Dewey (University of Michigan)

    Particle precipitation

    What can PIXE tell us about the surface (examples: does it illuminate PSCs? better characterised low E input?)

    Simon Lindsay (University of Leicester)

    Solar extreme sputtering

    What are the influences of solar extreme events on Mercury's surface and exosphere?

    Weijie Sun (University of Michigan)

    Surface charging

    What are the interaction between plasma and Mercury’s surface?

    Jakub Vaverka (Charles University)

     

    Subgroup chairs

    ​​​​​​Indhu Varatharajan & Océane Barraud & Aurélie Van den Neucker