Physics – Geophysics
Scientific paper
Jan 1998
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1998lpico.957...52w&link_type=abstract
Origin of the Earth and Moon, Proceedings of the Conference held 1-3 December, 1998 in Monterey, California. LPI Contribution N
Physics
Geophysics
Bias, Earth Mantle, Geophysics, Impactors, Lunar Composition, Earth-Moon System, Random Sampling, Lunar Prospector
Scientific paper
isotopic data for O and recently Cr indicate similar provenance for the materials that constitute the Earth and Moon. The common interpretation of this similarity is that during its formation by a giant impact, the Moon came to consist mainly of material derived from Earth's mantle, or else from the mantle of an impactor required (by the O and Cr isotopes) to have been compositionally similar to Earth. The Moon's bulk composition is thus implied to be modified from that of Earth's mantle only by incorporation of minor Fe metal from the impactor core, and by loss of volatiles (and conceivably partial reduction of FeO) during recondensation and accretion after the giant impact. Models of this type are seriously oversimplified. As previously discussed, the giant impact can hardly be expected to derive the protolunar matter from a random sampling of the two involved mantles (Earth's + the giant impactor's). Instead, the derivation of the protolunar matter must be strongly biased in favor of shallow depth in the preimpact mantles. The models of Melosh and Sonett [3] indicated very strong antidepth bias. Unfortunately, no other geophysical models have yet made any serious attempt to constrain the degree of antidepth bias in the provenance of protolunar matter. Models of this type are seriously oversimplified. As previously discussed, the giant impact can hardly be expected to derive the protolunar matter from a random sampling of the two involved mantles (Earth's + the giant impactor's). Instead, the derivation of the protolunar matter must be strongly biased in favor of shallow depth in the preimpact mantles. The models of Melosh and Sonett indicated very strong antidepth bias. Unfortunately, no other geophysical models have yet made any serious attempt to constrain the degree of antidepth bias in the provenance of protolunar matter.
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