Rock Abundance on the Lunar Mare on Surfaces of Different Age: Implications for Regolith Evolution and Thickness

The growth of lunar regolith over time affects surface rock abundance, because larger, less frequent impacts are needed to penetrate thicker regolith developed on older surfaces and excavate rocks. On younger surfaces with thinner regolith, smaller, more frequent impacts are sufficient to excavate r...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical research letters 2022-02, Vol.49 (4), p.n/a
Main Authors: Vanga, Sashank, Fassett, Caleb I, Zanetti, Michael, Nypaver, Cole, Thomson, Bradley J, Hirabayashi, Masatoshi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abundance
Age
Atmospheric particulates
Bedrock
Boulders
Commonality
Correlation
Dredging
Dust storms
Excavation
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Lunar craters
Lunar evolution
Lunar maria
Lunar regolith
Lunar spacecraft
Lunar surface
Radiometers
Regolith
Rock
Rock excavation
Rocks
Spacecraft
Statistical methods
Terrain
Thickness
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Summary:The growth of lunar regolith over time affects surface rock abundance, because larger, less frequent impacts are needed to penetrate thicker regolith developed on older surfaces and excavate rocks. On younger surfaces with thinner regolith, smaller, more frequent impacts are sufficient to excavate rocks. We quantify the correlation between observed rock abundances and age on the lunar surface by comparing Diviner rock abundance data to the surface ages of inter-crater parts on the maria. Our observations show the expected negative correlation between age and rock abundance. The commonality of non-zero rock abundance values on ancient surfaces, combined with a simple Monte Carlo model of the rock excavation process, suggest that rocks re-excavated from the regolith volume contribute to the presently observed rock population on the lunar surface. The half-life of meter-scale surface rocks most consistent with our observations is 80±20 Myr.
ISSN:0094-8276
1944-8007
DOI:10.1029/2021GL096710