Two-stage development of the lunar farside highlands crustal formation. (January 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Yamamoto, Keiko; Haruyama, Junichi; Kobayashi, Shingo; Ohtake, Makiko; Iwata, Takahiro; Ishihara, Yoshiaki; Hasebe, Nobuyuki
• Is Part Of: Planetary and space science. Volume 120(2016)
• Page Start: 43
• Page End: 47
• Publication Date: 2016-01
• Subjects: Thorium abundance -- Lunar crustal thickness -- SELENE -- GRAIL -- Lunar crustal formation; Space sciences -- Periodicals; Atmosphere, Upper -- Periodicals; Sciences spatiales -- Périodiques; Haute atmosphère -- Périodiques; 523
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pss.2015.11.002
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0032-0633

Abstract

Abstract: The correlation between the spatial patterns of surface Thorium (Th) abundance measured by SELENE GRS data and the crustal thickness from the GRAIL gravity field and LRO LOLA data is investigated in the lunar highland area. Our analysis reveals that there are several areas of local minima for Th abundance exhibiting similar values but different crustal thicknesses. To explain the result, we propose a two-stage scenario for crustal formation. In the first stage, plural thin plateaus form on the surface of the lunar magma ocean (LMO), which corresponds to the observed surface Th distribution. In the second stage, a global crust with dichotomy forms by solidification of the LMO under the plateaus. Highlights: We proposed two-stage scenario of the lunar crustal formation. Correlation of the Th abundance and crustal thickness map was investigated in detail. The latest Th abundance and crustal thickness maps were used for the analysis.