Other
Scientific paper
Dec 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009agufm.p23c1286h&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2009, abstract #P23C-1286
Other
[5480] Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets / Volcanism, [6250] Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects / Moon
Scientific paper
One of the most enigmatic features observed within the lunar maria are sinuous rilles, meandering channel-like features ranging from tens of meters to several kilometers in width and from a few to several hundreds of kilometers in length. Sinuous rilles generally form within maria, but they also originate in adjacent highlands and continue in the highlands for considerable distances. Sinuous rilles originate in elongate or irregularly shaped depressions or in large crater-like features, and they can be characterized by single channels or channels nested within one another that end abruptly in maria, merge into other rilles, or shallow within maria until they are no longer detectable. Post-Apollo studies link sinuous rille formation with the emplacement of lava, and a growing appreciation for ascent and eruption of lunar magma led to hypotheses consistent with very high effusion rates of low-viscosity lava: [1] and [2] suggest that at the high Reynolds numbers expected for these eruptions, flow ceases to be laminar and becomes turbulent. In these environments, convective heat loss is more efficient than conduction, leading the substrate temperature to exceed its solidus temperature and promoting thermal erosion that leads to the carving of deep channels similar to sinuous rilles. To apply updated thermal erosion models [3], we have examined properties of sinuous rilles, including 1) source region topography and morphology to assess implications of source geometry for thermal erosion theories [4, 5]; 2) lengths to assess possible flow durations; 3) slopes in order to assess important parameters associated with thermal erosion; 4) marginal deposits in order to distinguish between leveed lava flows and thermally erosive flows; and 5) spectral properties of units in which sinuous rilles occur in order to assess the units that they may be eroding and to detect the presence of possible distal deposits. These properties will be used to assess and update theories of thermal erosion as an origin for sinuous rilles and to distinguish between those features associated with thermal erosion and those formed by other processes. Our initial studies have focused on Rima Hadley and Rima Prinz and also include sinuous rilles observed on the Aristarchus Plateau and in other lunar regions. Topographic profiles were collected for Rima Hadley and Rima Prinz using high resolution Apollo orthotopographic maps (1:50,000). Hadley Rille is characterized by a v-shaped channel <1.5 km wide and ~300 m deep, and the channel has smooth, rimless edges and an uphill slope of 2.7 m/km. Rima Prinz is characterized by a u-shaped channel <2 km wide and 150 m deep, and the channel also has smooth, rimless edges and a downward slope of 5.7 m/km. The rimless margins of these sinuous rilles support a thermally erosive origin, though further analysis of these characteristics will better constrain interpretations of the origin of sinuous rilles. References: [1] Hulme, G., 1973, Mod. Geol., 4, 107-117 [2] Carr, M. H., 1974, Icarus, 22, 1-23 [3] Williams, D. A., et al., 2000, JGR, 105, 20,189-20,205 [4] Head, J. W. and Wilson, L., 1980, 11th LPSC, 426-427 [5] Wilson, L. and Head, J. W., 1980, 11th LPSC, 1260-1262.
Head James W.
Hurwitz Debra M.
Wilson Leslie
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