Physics
Scientific paper
Apr 1980
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1980pepi...22...29l&link_type=abstract
Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, vol. 22, Apr. 1980, p. 29-35.
Physics
15
Gravity Anomalies, Lunar Evolution, Lunar Figure, Lunar Gravitation, Earth-Moon System, Energy Dissipation, Planetology, Selenology, Tides, Moon, Gravity Fields, Wavelengths, Density, Anomalies, Surface, Harmonics, Shape, History, Tidal Forces, Evolution, Tectonism, Earth-Moon System, Hypotheses, Spectrum, Stresses, Pressure, Mathematical Models, Lithosphere, Rheology
Scientific paper
The lunar gravity field can be satisfactorily explained by relatively-small wavelength density anomalies located near the lunar surface. The exceptions to this are the second degree harmonics and, a dual origin for these terms is postulated; they are partly a consequence of the same near-surface anomalies as the remainder of the gravity field and partly a measure of a fossil bulge. This latter contribution represents an equilibrium condition preserved from a time when the synchronously rotating moon was approximately 25 earth-radii from the earth. If this shape was acquired at some time soon after 9 billion years ago, the rate of dissipation of tidal energy in the earth has been much lower in the past then it is now. The implications of this on the evolution of the earth-moon system are briefly discussed.
Lambeck Kurt
Pullan S.
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