Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Dec 2008
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008agufm.p31b1403f&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2008, abstract #P31B-1403
Mathematics
Logic
5421 Interactions With Particles And Fields, 5470 Surface Materials And Properties, 5480 Volcanism (6063, 8148, 8450), 8425 Effusive Volcanism, 8450 Planetary Volcanism (5480, 6063, 8148)
Scientific paper
The lunar surface is bathed in a variety of impacting particles originating from the solar wind, solar flares, and galactic cosmic rays. These particles can become embedded in the regolith and/or produce a range of other molecules as they pass through the target material. The Moon therefore contains a record of the intensity and variability of the solar and galactic particle fluxes. To obtain useful temporal snapshots of these processes, discrete regolith units must be shielded from continued bombardment that would smear the record over time. One mechanism for achieving this is the burial of a regolith deposit by a later lava flow. The archival value of such deposits sandwiched between lava layers is enhanced by the fact that both the under- and over-lying lava can be dated by radiometric techniques, thereby precisely defined the age of the regolith layer and the geologic record contained therein. The implanted volatile species would be vulnerable to outgassing by the heat of the flow at temperatures ranging between 300 and 1150°C. However, the insulating properties of the finely particulate regolith suggest that significant heating would be restricted to shallow depths. We have modeled the heat transfer between lunar mare lavas (of a range of temperatures, compositions, and thicknesses) and the regolith in order to establish the range of depths below which implanted volatiles would be preserved. We find that reaction-derived molecules (e.g., CH4, 20Ne, 36Ar) and weakly implanted particles (H2, He, H2O) would survive at depths of tens to <300 cm. Many other elements (e.g., C, N, S, CO, and N2) would survive outgassing at depths in the regolith of only a few cm (for a 1 m thick lava flow) to ~30 - 65 cm (for a 10 m flow). These results provide a basis for possible lunar exploration activities; obtaining useful archives of solar system processes would require extraction of regolith deposits buried at shallow depths beneath radiometrically-dated mare lava flows.
Crawford Ian A.
Elise Rumpf M.
Fagents Sarah A.
Joy Katherine H.
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