The Case Against an Early Lunar Dynamo Powered by Core Convection

• Published in: Geophysical research letters 2018-01, Vol.45 (1), p.98-107
• Main Authors: Evans, Alexander J., Tikoo, Sonia M., Andrews‐Hanna, Jeffrey C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Convection; core; Duration; dynamo; Energy sources; lunar; Lunar magnetic fields; Lunar surface; magnetic; Magnetic field; Magnetic fields; Magnetism; Microprocessors; Moon; Palaeomagnetism; Paleomagnetism
• ISSN: 0094-8276; 1944-8007
• DOI: 10.1002/2017GL075441

Paleomagnetic analyses of lunar samples indicate that the Moon had a dynamo‐generated magnetic field with ~50 μT surface field intensities between 3.85 and 3.56 Ga followed by a period of much lower (≤ ~5 μT) intensities that persisted beyond 2.5 Ga. However, we determine herein that there is insufficient energy associated with core convection—the process commonly recognized to generate long‐lived magnetic fields in planetary bodies—to sustain a lunar dynamo for the duration and intensities indicated. We find that a lunar surface field of ≤1.9 μT could have persisted until 200 Ma, but the ~50 μT paleointensities recorded by lunar samples between 3.85 and 3.56 Ga could not have been sustained by a convective dynamo for more than 28 Myr. Thus, for a continuously operating, convective dynamo to be consistent with the early lunar paleomagnetic record, either an exotic mechanism or unknown energy source must be primarily responsible for the ancient lunar magnetic field. Key Points The possibility that lunar core convection could generate a low‐intensity magnetic field of ≤1.9 μT for 4.3 Gyr cannot be excluded An exotic mechanism or energy source is required to produce ~50 μT fields between 3.85 and 3.56 Ga Neither a superheated core nor a dense KREEP‐rich layer above the core can provide the energy needed for an early, intense lunar dynamo