GRAIL-identified gravity anomalies in Oceanus Procellarum: Insight into subsurface impact and magmatic structures on the Moon

Deutsch, A. N.; Neumann, Gregory A.; Head, J. W.; Wilson, Lionel

doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2019.05.027

Cited by 25 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…Our 3D inversion results reveal a bowl‐shaped anomaly in the vertical (Figure ) and a QCMA in map view (Figures ). These results are consistent with previous studies on the QCMAs (e.g., Deutsch et al, ; Evans et al, ), and HG3 appears as a circular feature formed by an impact event. The feature does not, however, show a prominent surface basin structure (Figure ), due to burial of basalts (Qian et al, ) that is common to small impact craters (Melosh et al, ; Miljković et al, ; Neumann et al, ) and QCMAs (Evans et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…One possibility is that the volcanic activity in the western Rümker region is fed through dike‐like features, which are connected to a magma chamber located entirely in the mantle and cannot be resolved with the resolution (~4.5 km) of our data. This is also supported by Deutsch et al () who suggested that most of the volcanic activities in Oceanus Procellarum were fed through dikes.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 68%

“…The positive gravity anomalies with values of ~130 mGal for this region are relatively high for basins with a diameter of less than 80 km, which supports a thick deposition of mare basalts for the buried impact basin. Deutsch et al () suggested a bowl‐shaped and very deep crater geometry for a high gravity response of >130 mGal. They further show that for a crustal density of 2,800 kg/m 3 and a combination of ~3–4 km of mare infill and ~5–7 km of mantle uplift, a required density contrast is attained to obtain such high amplitude of the GRAIL‐derived Bouguer gravity for mare‐filled impact craters.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is estimated that 39% of the Oceanus Procellarum is fed by such dikes (Deutsch et al, ). The volcanic emplacement system could be similar to the Marius Hills volcanic complex in the Oceanus Procellarum with an intrusive body beneath the volcanic complex with systems of feeder dikes (Deutsch et al, ). Our results, however, could not resolve dikes due to the resolution of the data (~4.5 km).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This value is higher than the average density for the lunar crust of ~2,550 kg/m 3 (Wieczorek et al, ). Other studies have also used a higher average density value, between 2,700 to 2,900 kg/m 3 , as a result of the presence of basaltic materials in this region (e.g., Besserer et al, ; Deutsch et al, ). We filtered the data from degree 6 to 450 to remove long‐wavelength effects and short‐wavelength signals.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Density Structure of the Rümker Region in the Northern Oceanus Procellarum: Implications for Lunar Volcanism and Landing Site Selection for the Chang'E‐5 Mission

et al. 2020

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The Rümker region, located in the northern Oceanus Procellarum, is the candidate landing region for China's Chang'E-5 lunar sample-return mission. The area is geologically complex and known for its volcanic activity. To understand the volcanism of the Rümker region, we investigate the 3D crustal density structure of this region using Bouguer gravity data from the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission. We applied derivative filters and a 3D density inversion to resolve both the shallow and deep structures in the subsurface. Results indicate that the Rümker region exhibits different modes of emplacement. The Mons Rümker volcanic complex is fed by an intrusion-like structure at a depth of 6-18 km and contains high-density basaltic materials of >3,000 kg/m 3 . A quasi-circular mass anomaly that was identified in a previous study with high gravity amplitude (~130 mGal) and high density (> 3,000 kg/m 3 ) was also documented in the study region. The quasi-circular mass anomaly feature represents deeper and thicker buried mare basalts with a bowl-shaped geometry formed by an impact event. Based on our geophysical analysis, we propose four landing site candidates for the Chang'E-5 mission that satisfy the geological and geophysical criteria for maximum scientific return. Plain language SummaryThe Mons Rümker region on the Moon features evidence for multiple volcanic episodes, including some of the youngest lunar mare basalts known to date. To better understand the volcanic activity, we analyzed gravity data from the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission with a high resolution of 4.5 km. We used geophysical tools to study both shallow and deep subsurface structures. Our results suggest that the Mons Rümker region features multiple small and large high-density underground bodies, some of which breach the surface. In particular, there could be a large magmatic body at a depth of~6-18 km that fed the surface volcanoes. Our analyses also revealed another circular feature at~7-to 17-km depth with high-density values. As China prepares to send the Chang'E-5 mission to collect drill-hole samples, we combine the results from this study with remote sensing and geological analyses to propose four candidate landing sites that would possibly maximize the scientific return of the mission.

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