The structural stability of lunar lava tubes

Blair, D. M.; Chappaz, Loïc; Sood, Rohan; Milbury, C.; Bobet, Antonio; Melosh, H. J.; Howell, Kathleen C.; Freed, A. M.

doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2016.10.008

Cited by 53 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…As PS velocities on the observation points present LOS directional behaviours, PS points were introduced to identify the trail of potential lava tubes and their deformation hazards with proper interpretations. Since the instabilities of lava tube have been identified by the structural analyses employing Finite Element Method (FEM) (Blair et al, 2017;Theinat et al, 2020) or the 280 field work demonstrating the lava tube collapsing (Son, 2009), the surface deformations induced by lava tubes might also be detected by InSAR time series analyses. In addition, the sinkhole detected by InSAR analyses previously performed by Atzori et al 2015, Baer et al (2018) and Intrieri et al (2015) are proposed as comparable study cases as the cavities induced by underground sinkholes and lava tubes would cause similar surface deformations.…”

Section: Interpretation and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quaternary lava tubes distribution in Jeju Island and their potential deformation risks

Kim

Lin

Oh³

2020

Preprint

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Abstract. Jeju Island, located in the southern sea of the Korean Peninsula, is a volcanic island created by the tertiary and quaternary volcanic eruptions. A group of lava tubes formed between quaternary lava flows constitutes one of the most predominant geological contexts owing to its unique and complex network, for which a total of 178 lava tubes is estimated. As a significant portion of lava caves have not been discovered, the threat caused by lava cave collapse has become one of the major concerns in connection with the recent infrastructure construction in Jeju Island. Considering the risk potential, the overall distribution and collapsing risk of the Jeju lava tube network were investigated in this study. Through spatial analysis, we firstly found that the lava tubes distribution is not correlated with specific geological units. Secondly, the risk of collapse is high especially when there are ongoing artificial constructions around the undisclosed lava tube network. We therefore introduced Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) techniques to measure the deformation of the ground surface where lava tube networks distributed underground. InSAR results and the proposed machine learning applications identified that the populations of ground deformations was up to 1–2 mm/year and was inferred to be caused by the instability of the shallow lava cavity. Given that underground cavities could pose serious risks, a detailed physical exploration and threat assessment of potential cave groups is required before intensive anthropogenic construction is developed.

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Section: Interpretation and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quaternary lava tubes distribution in Jeju Island and their potential deformation risks

Kim

Lin

Oh³

2020

Preprint

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“…However, the limited information on skylights from remote sensing observations also adds several uncertainties, including the stability of the structure, lateral extent (and its connectivity) and potential hazards of unknown nature. Several studies including structural modeling and reconnaissance mission planning have been carried out to characterize the skylights, to be able to fully evaluate their potential and future uses (e.g., [185][186][187][188][189]). Lunar (collapse) pits have also been documented in impact melt deposits and might offer locations for future habitats.…”

Section: Lava Tube Skylights-accessibility Science and Resource Potementioning

confidence: 99%

The New Moon: Major Advances in Lunar Science Enabled by Compositional Remote Sensing from Recent Missions

Dhingra

2018

Geosciences

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Volatile-bearing lunar surface and interior, giant magmatic-intrusion-laden near and far side, globally distributed layer of purest anorthosite (PAN) and discovery of Mg-Spinel anorthosite, a new rock type, represent just a sample of the brand new perspectives gained in lunar science in the last decade. An armada of missions sent by multiple nations and sophisticated analyses of the precious lunar samples have led to rapid evolution in the understanding of the Moon, leading to major new findings, including evidence for water in the lunar interior. Fundamental insights have been obtained about impact cratering, the crystallization of the lunar magma ocean and conditions during the origin of the Moon. The implications of this understanding go beyond the Moon and are therefore of key importance in solar system science. These new views of the Moon have challenged the previous understanding in multiple ways and are setting a new paradigm for lunar exploration in the coming decade both for science and resource exploration. Missions from India, China, Japan, South Korea, Russia and several private ventures promise continued exploration of the Moon in the coming years, which will further enrich the understanding of our closest neighbor. The Moon remains a key scientific destination, an active testbed for in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) activities, an outpost to study the universe and a future spaceport for supporting planetary missions.

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“…Lava tubes have also been proposed on Mars (Keszthelyi et al, 2008), and have been suggested to occur on Venus (Byrnes and Crown, 2002). Terrestrial lava tubes are generally less than a few 10s of m wide (Greeley, 1971a;Greeley and Hyde, 1972), but lunar lava tubes are thought to be considerably wider because of reduced gravity, perhaps even as broad as 1 km across (Blair et al, 2015).…”

Section: Lava Tubes and Skylightsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…So as to return to the jovian system with a dedicated mission to Io, the Io Volcano Observer (IVO) was recently proposed (McEwen et al, 2014;2015). Io is also a highpriority target for a larger New Frontiers-class mission (NAS, 2011).…”

Section: Return To Iomentioning

confidence: 99%