Lunar surface rock abundance and regolith fines temperatures derived from LRO Diviner Radiometer data

Bandfield, J. L.; Ghent, R. R.; Vasavada, A. R.; Paige, D. A.; Lawrence, S. J.; Robinson, M. S.

doi:10.1029/2011je003866

Cited by 282 publications

(435 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Rock abundance derived in this way represents the fractional area of exposed rocks large enough to be thermally isolated from the surrounding regolith, larger than~10-100 cm in size (section 3.3.1; cf. Bandfield et al, 2011). Thus, rocks smaller than~10 cm augment the derived regolith temperatures and are considered part of the regolith in the study reported here.…”

Section: Data Setmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous work indicated that rock abundance is a key indicator of crater age (Bandfield et al, 2011;Ghent et al, 2014). Ghent et al (2014) demonstrated that a quantitative relationship exists between the 95th percentile rock abundance within a crater's ejecta blanket and its model age based on counts of superposed craters.…”

Section: Impact Craters and Ejectamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rock abundance refers to the areal concentration of rocks larger than~10-100 cm derived from Diviner's nighttime multispectral infrared measurements (Bandfield et al, 2011). For the present study, we used rock abundance and regolith temperatures derived from available gridded Diviner data, using the same data set as in Bandfield et al (2017).…”

Section: Comparison To Rock Abundancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In particular, we used derived rock abundance and regolith temperatures, which are described in detail by Bandfield et al (2017Bandfield et al ( , 2011. Their approach uses the spectral information from Diviner and modeled rock temperatures to discriminate between warm rocks and cooler regolith in the nighttime data.…”

Section: Data Setmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Their approach uses the spectral information from Diviner and modeled rock temperatures to discriminate between warm rocks and cooler regolith in the nighttime data. Bandfield et al (2017Bandfield et al ( , 2011 treated the rock abundance and rockfree regolith temperatures as free parameters that are allowed to vary within each pixel and local time. Rock abundance derived in this way represents the fractional area of exposed rocks large enough to be thermally isolated from the surrounding regolith, larger than~10-100 cm in size (section 3.3.1; cf.…”

Section: Data Setmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Global Regolith Thermophysical Properties of the Moon From the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment

et al. 2017

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We used infrared data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment to globally map thermophysical properties of the Moon's regolith fines layer. Thermal conductivity varies from 7.4 × 10−4 W m−1 K−1 at the surface to 3.4 × 10−3 W m−1 K−1 at depths of ~1 m, given density values of 1,100 kg m−3 at the surface to 1,800 kg m−3 at 1 m depth. On average, the scale height of these profiles is ~7 cm, corresponding to a thermal inertia of 55 ± 2 J m−2 K−1 s−1/2 at 273 K, relevant to the diurnally active near‐surface layer, ~4–7 cm. The temperature dependence of thermal conductivity and heat capacity leads to an ~2 times diurnal variation in thermal inertia at the equator. On global scales, the regolith fines are remarkably uniform, implying rapid homogenization by impact gardening of this layer on timescales <1 Gyr. Regional‐ and local‐scale variations show prominent impact features <1 Gyr old, including higher thermal inertia (> 100 J m−2 K−1 s−1/2) in the interiors and ejecta of Copernican‐aged impact craters and lower thermal inertia (< 50 J m−2 K−1 s−1/2) within the lunar cold spots identified by Bandfield et al. (2014). Observed trends in ejecta thermal inertia provide a potential tool for age dating craters of previously unknown age, complementary to the approach suggested by Ghent et al. (2014). Several anomalous regions are identified in the global 128 pixels per degree maps presented here, including a high‐thermal inertia deposit near the antipode of Tycho crater.

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Section: Data Setmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Impact Craters and Ejectamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Comparison To Rock Abundancementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Data Setmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Data Setmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Global Regolith Thermophysical Properties of the Moon From the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment

et al. 2017

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Vesta surface thermal properties map

Capria

Tosi

Sanctis

et al. 2014

Geophysical Research Letters

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The first ever regional thermal properties map of Vesta has been derived from the temperatures retrieved by infrared data by the mission Dawn. The low average value of thermal inertia, 30 ± 10 J m À2 s À0.5 K À1, indicates a surface covered by a fine regolith. A range of thermal inertia values suggesting terrains with different physical properties has been determined. The lower thermal inertia of the regions north of the equator suggests that they are covered by an older, more processed surface. A few specific areas have higher than average thermal inertia values, indicative of a more compact material. The highest thermal inertia value has been determined on the Marcia crater, known for its pitted terrain and the presence of hydroxyl in the ejecta. Our results suggest that this type of terrain can be the result of soil compaction following the degassing of a local subsurface reservoir of volatiles.

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Global assessment of pure crystalline plagioclase across the Moon and implications for the evolution of the primary crust

Hanna

Cheek

Pieters

et al. 2014

J. Geophys. Res. Planets

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Recent advancements in visible to near infrared orbital measurements of the lunar surface have allowed the character and extent of the primary anorthositic crust to be studied at unprecedented spatial and spectral resolutions. Here we assess the lunar primary anorthositic crust in global context using a spectral parameter tool for Moon Mineralogy Mapper data to identify and map Fe-bearing crystalline plagioclase based on its diagnostic 1.25 μm absorption band. This allows plagioclase-dominated rocks, specifically anorthosites, to be unambiguously identified as well as distinguished from lithologies with minor to trace amounts of mafic minerals. Low spatial resolution global mosaics and high spatial resolution individual data strips covering more than 650 targeted craters were analyzed to identify and map the mineralogy of spectrally pure regions as small as~400 m in size. Spectrally, pure plagioclase is identified in approximately 450 targets located across the lunar surface. Diviner thermal infrared (TIR) data are analyzed for 37 of these nearly monomineralic regions in order to understand the compositional variability of plagioclase (An#) in these areas. The average An# for each spectrally pure region is estimated using new laboratory measurements of a well-characterized anorthite (An 96 ) sample. Diviner TIR results suggest that the plagioclase composition across the lunar highlands is relatively uniform, high in calcium content, and consistent with plagioclase compositions found in the ferroan anorthosites (An 94-98 ). Our results confirm that spectrally pure anorthosite is widely distributed across the lunar surface, and most exposures of the ancient anorthositic crust are concentrated in regions of thicker crust surrounding impact basins on the lunar nearside and farside. In addition, the scale of the impact basins and the global nature and distribution of pure plagioclase requires a coherent zone of anorthosite of similar composition in the lunar crust supporting its formation from a single differentiation event like a magma ocean. Our identifications of pure anorthosite combined with the GRAIL crustal thickness model suggest that pure anorthosite is currently observed at a range of crustal thickness values between 9 and 63 km and that the primary anorthositic crust must have been at least 30 km thick.

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Lunar surface rock abundance and regolith fines temperatures derived from LRO Diviner Radiometer data

Cited by 282 publications

References 31 publications

Global Regolith Thermophysical Properties of the Moon From the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment

Global Regolith Thermophysical Properties of the Moon From the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment

Vesta surface thermal properties map

Global assessment of pure crystalline plagioclase across the Moon and implications for the evolution of the primary crust

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