Other
Scientific paper
Dec 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011agufm.p31e1733g&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2011, abstract #P31E-1733
Other
[5464] Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets / Remote Sensing, [5480] Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets / Volcanism, [6250] Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects / Moon, [8450] Volcanology / Planetary Volcanism
Scientific paper
We used a Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Cameras (LROC) global monochrome Wide Angle Camera (WAC) mosaic to conduct a survey of the Moon to search for previously unidentified pyroclastic deposits. Promising locations were examined in detail using LROC multispectral WAC mosaics, high-resolution LROC Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) images, and Clementine multispectral (ultraviolet-visible, or UVVIS) data. Out of 47 potential deposits chosen for closer examination, 13 were selected as probable newly identified pyroclastic deposits. Potential pyroclastic deposits were generally found in settings similar to previously identified deposits, including areas within or near mare deposits adjacent to highlands, within floor-fractured craters, and along fissures in mare deposits. A significant new finding is the discovery of localized pyroclastic deposits within floor-fractured craters Anderson E & F on the lunar farside, isolated from other known similar deposits. These appear to be Alphonsus-type deposits erupted from a series of small vents aligned with the fracture system, suggesting their origin in volatile-rich vulcanian-style eruptions containing relatively small amounts of juvenile material. The presence of such volcanic features on the lunar farside outside of the major basins such as Moscoviense, Orientale, and South Pole - Aitken indicates that magma ascent and eruption have occurred even in the central farside highlands, despite the thicker farside crust. However, this is the only such occurrence that we have located, and it appears to represent an endpoint in the continuum of eruption styles where the eruption was just barely able to reach the surface but could not transport enough magma to the surface to form an effusive deposit. Many of the 47 potential locations screened were eliminated from consideration based on inconclusive evidence regarding their mode of emplacement. Additional optical imaging, or analyses of other data sets such as radar, imaging spectroscopy, or thermal inertia, could result in identification of additional pyroclastic deposits, especially lighter-toned deposits. However, our search also confirms that most major regional and localized pyroclastic deposits have likely been identified on the Moon down to ~100 m/pix resolution, and that additional newly identified pyroclastic deposits are likely to be either isolated small deposits or additional portions of discontinuous, patchy deposits. Based on the locations where we identified previously unidentified pyroclastic deposits, the greatest potential for identification of additional pyroclastic deposits is likely to be in regions with other volcanic constructs associated with mare deposits, highland locations along the margins of maria, and smaller floor-fractured craters that have not yet been thoroughly imaged at higher resolution, particularly on the farside (such as Anderson E & F).
Bell Jon F.
Gaddis Lisa R.
Giguere T.
Gustafson O.
Hawke Bernard Ray
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