Detection and Extent of Ancient, Buried Mare Deposits in South Pole-Aitken Basin (SPA):Implications for Robotic Sampling

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[5480] Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets / Volcanism, [6250] Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects / Moon

Scientific paper

The origin of the large mafic anomaly associated with the interior of the South Pole-Aitken Basin has been inferred to be largely the result of iron-rich lower crustal/upper mantle material exposed at the surface and/or a combination of ancient mare basalts covered by younger crater/basin ejecta (cryptomare) interspersed with younger basalts [1-3]. However, the relative influence of either source is poorly constrained, due in part to the unknown abundance of cryptomare within SPA. Early geologic mapping of the interior of SPA identified several plains units, thought to represent basin ejecta deposits [4, 5]. Newer remotely sensed VIS-NIR wavelength data suggested the presence of more extensive deposits of ancient, buried basalts [2, 3, 6]. Mare basalts, when mantled by non-local, low-FeO material may appear to be non-mare plains units [7, 8]. Within SPA, because the regional basement material is inherently enriched in FeO, the mantling material imparts a dark, FeO-enriched, signature. In a survey of rock types within SPA, Pieters et al. [3] identified such a plains unit south of the Apollo Basin with a surface that is both dark and that contains an FeO-rich spectral signature. However, several small craters in the plains unit expose underlying basaltic materials or cryptomaria in this extensive (>75,000 km2), ancient (~3.89 Ga) unit [6, 9]. The positive identification and characterization of cryptomaria within SPA are facilitated by high-spatial and spectral resolution data from recent orbital missions (e.g., Kaguya, Chandrayaan-1, LRO). Hyperspectral data from the Moon Mineralogy Mapper and Multiband Imager for SPA show the presence of two primary mafic materials; a high-Ca pyroxene (gabbroic) signature is pervasive across the center of the basin and a noritic signature is present across the rest of SPA. High spatial resolution (10-0.5 m) images from the Kaguya Terrain Camera and LRO Narrow Angle Camera facilitate surface age dating and morphologic assessment of possible cryptomare units. We will assess the distribution of the gabbroic region using these above datasets to determine what relation, if any, this unit has to surrounding cryptomare and plains units. The definitive identification of cryptomare units has important implications for the selection of appropriate landing sites to sample SPA-derived impact-melt [10]. [1] Head, J. W., et al., (1993) JGR, 98, 17,149-117,181. [2] Yingst, R. A. and J. W. Head, (1999) JGR, 104, 18957-18979. [3] Pieters, C. M., et al., (2001) JGR, 106, 28001-28022. [4] Stuart-Alexander, D. E., (1978) Geologic map of the central far side of the Moon, I-1047. [5] Wilhelms, D. E., et al., (1979) Geologic map of the South side of the Moon, I-1162. [6] Petro, N., et al., (2010) GSA SP: Recent Advances in Lunar Stratigraphy, In Press. [7] Head, J. W., III and L. Wilson, (1992) GCA, 56, 2155-2175. [8] Schultz, P. H. and P. D. Spudis, (1979) Proc. Lunar Sci. Conf., 10, 2899-2918. [9] Haruyama, J., et al., (2009) Science, 323, 905-908. [10] Jolliff, B., et al., (2010) These proceedings.

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