Mapping Solar System chaos with the Geological Orrery.

Area of Science:

• Geophysics
• Paleoclimatology
• Astrogeology

Background:

• Solar System motion becomes chaotic beyond 60 million years ago, limiting orbital predictions.
• Geological records offer a unique proxy for understanding past orbital dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address limitations in predicting long-term planetary orbits.
• To precisely measure secular fundamental frequencies of inner planet and Jupiter's perihelion precession during the Early Mesozoic.
• To establish the Geological Orrery as a framework for mapping Solar System evolution.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing data from the Newark Basin and Colorado Plateau Coring Projects.
• Employing a lacustrine climate record tuned to orbital pacing as a geological interferometer.
• Applying zircon U-Pb-based age models and frequency analysis for robust measurements.

Main Results:

• Accurate resolution of perihelion precession frequencies for inner planets and Jupiter in the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic.
• Observed significant deviations in these frequencies compared to current values (except for Jupiter).
• A numerical solution closely matched the Geological Orrery data, suggesting a low probability of chance.

Conclusions:

• The Geological Orrery concept is validated as a proof of concept.
• An empirical framework is established for studying chaotic Solar System evolution.
• Future work requires a high-latitude geological archive to determine nodal precession frequencies.