Other
Scientific paper
Aug 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011psrd.repte.157t&link_type=abstract
Planetary Science Research Discoveries
Other
Lunar Magma Ocean, Differentiation, Mg-Suite, Magnesian Suite, Moon, Kreep
Scientific paper
A central tenet of lunar science is that the Moon was surrounded by a huge ocean of magma when it formed. Originally thought to be a few hundred kilometers deep, lunar scientists now think that the entire Moon was initially molten. Numerous geochemical models have been constructed for the crystallization of the magma ocean. All the calculations use computer programs based on experimental data, but these necessitate some simplifications. Stephen Elardo, David Draper, and Charles Shearer (all at the University of New Mexico, though Draper has moved to the Johnson Space Center) are tackling the problem differently by doing a series of high-temperature experiments at different pressures and two different starting compositions to improve our understanding of how the magma ocean crystallized. Their first results show that both starting compositions (one enriched in aluminum and other refractory elements and one not enriched compared to Earth) produce an extensive olivine-rich cumulate pile inside the Moon that rests on a metallic iron core. The composition with the higher aluminum concentration produces a thicker crust than does the other composition, raising the possibility that we can determine the bulk composition of the Moon by pinning down the thickness of the primary crust of the Moon. The olivine deposit is less dense than the overlying rock, so would likely slowly move as large blobs before stalling at the base of the crust. Once there it could react with feldspar-rich rock and KREEP (dregs from extensive magma ocean crystallization) to produce the magmas that gave rise to the numerous igneous rock bodies known as the magnesian suite.
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