Magnetism of the Moon - a lunar core dynamo or impact magnetization?

Surface and satellite observations of lunar crustal magnetization and the remanent magnetization of the lunar samples returned by the Apollo missions of 1969–72 provide evidence for past magnetic fields on the Moon. During the more than twenty years in which research has been carried out there has been controversy concerning the origin of the field, with two possible processes of major interest. Dynamo generation of the field in a molten, electrically-conducting core is consistent with most of the observations, but encounters theoretical difficulties associated with the deduced magnitude of the ancient field and lack of positive evidence for a lunar core. The most likely alternative process is the generation of a transient magnetic field during meteorite impacts followed by thermoremanent or shock magnetization of debris and adjacent crust. This paper reviews the evidence and compares the observations with characteristics of lunar magnetism expected as a result of each of the two possible processes. It is concluded that the evidence very strongly favours the past existence of a dynamo-generated lunar magnetic field, with impact magnetization playing a minor role.     

On the interpretation of lunar magnetism

It is proved that if a spherical shell is magnetized in the direction of and proportional to a magnetic field of origin internal to the shell and the magnetizing field later disappears, no magnetic field exists external to the shell. Similarly if a spherical shell is magnetized parallel to and proportional to a magnetic field of external origin and this magnetizing field later disappears, the magnetic field internal to the shell is zero. These theorems are true only if these ideal conditions are met, but are applicable to the interpretation of the natural remanent magnetization of the lunar crust. It is shown that the present absence of a magnetic dipole field of the Moon supports the hypothesis that the magnetizing field was of internal origin but does not distinguish whether this was due to a dynamo in the lunar core or to a primaeval magnetization of its interior. Local magnetic fields around the Moon are interpreted as arising from the departure from sphericity of the shell and large craters.     

月球表层及月壳物质密度分布特征

月球表层与月壳岩石密度的横向与径向的变化,反映了月表及内部成分以及月球演化等特征.本文利用月球勘探者号伽马射线谱仪探测的月表Fe, Th与Mg元素分布数据,依据前人给出的元素含量与岩石类型的关系,对月球表层进行了岩性填图,并结合岩石样品与陨石的密度测试数据建立初始密度模型,采用铁元素与岩石密度的关系对其进行修正,从而建立了月表物质密度分布模型.基于嫦娥一号激光测高数据和日本SELENE计划发布的月球重力模型,计算出月球布格重力异常,进而反演得到月壳0~40 km深度范围内岩石平均密度分布模型.分析表明,大部分区域上,月壳至少月壳上部岩石成分主要以轻质的富含铝、钙、镁质的硅酸盐类岩石为主.由此推测,原始月壳极有可能是由轻质的、富含钙、镁质硅酸盐类岩石构成的全球性月壳.现今的玄武岩与克里普岩只是覆盖于原始的月壳之上的岩层,且厚度不大.     

A study of the Rima Sirsalis lunar magnetic anomaly

The source of the lunar magnetic anomaly associated with the Rima Sirsalis linear rille has been modelled using the vector field intensities due to arbitrary uniform magnetization in a rectangular prism. It is shown that in order to match the Apollo 16 subsatellite data, the lunar surface near the rille must have a vertical magnetization of 6–9 × 10⁻³ G if the anomaly is due to flux leakage from a gap in the crust with the dimensions of the rille. This is more than one order of magnitude larger than the magnetization of any lunar sample, but is comparable with the high magnetization recently deduced for the Reiner γ formation in Oceanus Procellarum. An alternative explanation is that Rima Sirsalis and its surroundings are the site of a vertical magnetization contrast of 10⁻⁵ – 10⁻⁴ G which is at least as wide as the rille and extends to a depth of tens of kilometers in the crust. A wider magnetic source reduces the required magnetization (or depth) proportionately, since to first order the field at high altitude is proportional to the magnetic dipole moment per unit length.     

Global electromagnetic induction in the Moon and planets

A summary of experiments and analyses concerning electromagnetic induction in the Moon and other extraterrestrial bodies is presented. Magnetic step-transient measurements made on the lunar dark side show the eddy current response to be the dominant induction mode of the Moon. Analysis of the poloidal field decay of the eddy currents has yielded a range of monotonic conductivity profiles for the lunar interior: the conductivity rises from 3·10^?4 mho/m at a depth of 170 km to 10^?2 mho/m at 1000 km depth. The static magnetization field induction has been measured and the whole-Moon relative magnetic permeability has been calculated to be $\text{μ}\text{μ}{}_0\text{= 1.01 ± 0.06}$. The remanent magnetic fields, measured at Apollo landing sites, range from 3 to 327 γ. Simultaneous magnetometer and solar wind spectrometer measurements show that the 38-γ remanent field at the Apollo 12 site is compressed to 54 γ by a solar wind pressure increase of 7·10^?8 dyn/cm². The solar wind confines the induced lunar poloidal field; the field is compressed to the surface on the lunar subsolar side and extends out into a cylindrical cavity on the lunar antisolar side. This solar wind confinement is modeled in the laboratory by a magnetic dipole enclosed in a superconducting lead cylinder; results show that the induced poloidal field geometry is modified in a manner similar to that measured on the Moon. Induction concepts developed for the Moon are extended to estimate the electromagnetic response of other bodies in the solar system.     

Sm-Nd age of lherzolite 67667: implications for the processes involved in lunar crustal formation

Pristine samples from the lunar highlands potentially offer important information bearing on the nature of early crustal development on all the terrestrial planets. One apparently unique sample of this group of lunar crustal rocks, the feldspathic lherzolite 67667, was studied utilizing the Sm-Nd radiometric system in an attempt to define its age and the implications of that age for the evolution of the lunar highlands. Data for 67667 precisely define an isochron corresponding to an age of 4.18±0.07 AE. The observed lack of disturbance of the Sm-Nd system of this sample may suggest that this time marks its crystallization at shallow depth in the lunar crust. However, the possibility that this age, as well as those of other highland rocks, indicate the time of their impact-induced excavation from regions deep enough in the lunar crust to allow subsolidus isotopic equilibrium to be produced or maintained between their constituent minerals is also considered. Taken together, bulk rock Sm-Nd data for four “high-Mg” rocks, including 67667, indicate that the chemical characteristics of all their source materials were established 4.33±0.08 AE ago and were intimately associated with the parent materials of KREEP. This finding provides more support for the concept of a large-scale differentiation episode early in lunar history. The possible roles of the crystallization of a global magma ocean, endogenous igneous activity, and of planetesimal impact, in producing the observed geochemical and chronological aspects of lunar highland rocks are discussed.     

Targeting the impactors: siderophile element signatures of lunar impact melts from Serenitatis

Highly siderophile element compositions of lunar impact melt breccias provide a unique record of the asteroid population responsible for large cratering events in the inner Solar System. Melt breccias associated with the 3.89 Ga Serenitatis impact basin resolve at least two separate impact events. KREEP-rich melt breccias representing the Apollo 17 poikilitic suite are enriched in highly siderophile elements (3.6-15.8 ppb Ir) with CI-normalized patterns that are elevated in Re, Ru and Pd relative to Ir and Pt. The restricted range of lithophile element compositions combined with the coherent siderophile element signatures indicate formation of these breccias in a single impact event involving an EH chondrite asteroid, probably as melt sheet deposits from the Serenitatis Basin. One exceptional sample, a split from melt breccia 77035, has a distinctive lithophile element composition and a siderophile element signature more like that of ordinary chondrites, indicating a discrete impact event. The recognition of multiple impact events, and the clear signatures of specific types of meteoritic impactors in the Apollo 17 melt breccias, shows that the lunar crust was not comprehensively reworked by prior impacts from 3.9 to 4.5 Ga, an observation more consistent with a late cataclysm than a smoothly declining accretionary flux. Late accretion of enstatite chondrites during a 3.8-4.0 Ga cataclysm may have contributed to siderophile element heterogeneity on the Earth, but would not have made a significant contribution to the volatile budget of the Earth or oxidation of the terrestrial mantle. Siderophile element patterns of Apollo 17 poikilitic breccias become more fractionated with decreasing concentrations, trending away from known meteorite compositions to higher Re/Ir and Pd/Pt ratios. The compositions of these breccias may be explained by a two-stage impact melting process involving: (1) deep penetration of the Serenitatis impactor into meteorite-free lower crust, followed by (2) incorporation of upper crustal lithologies moderately contaminated by prior meteoritic infall into the melt sheet. Trends to higher Re/Ir with decreasing siderophile element concentrations may indicate an endogenous lunar crustal component, or a non-chondritic late accretionary veneer in the pre-Serenitatis upper crust.     

A komatiite component in Apollo 16 highland breccias: implications for the nickel-cobalt systematics and bulk composition of the moon

The lunar crust at the Apollo 16 landing site contains substantial amounts of a “primitive component” in which the ferromagnesian group of elements is concentrated. The composition of this component can be retrieved via an analysis of mixing relationships displayed by lunar breccias. It is found to be a komatiite which is compositionally similar to terrestrial komatiites both in major and minor elements. The komatiite component of the lunar crust is believed to have formed by extensive degrees of melting of the lunar interior at depths greater than were involved in the formation of the lunar magma ocean which was parental to the crust. After formation of the anorthositic crust, it was invaded by extensive flows and intrusions of komatiite magma from these deeper source regions. The komatiites became intimately mixed with the anorthosite by intensive meteoroid impacts about 4.5 b.y. ago, thereby accounting for the observed mixing relationships displayed by the crust. The compositional similarity between lunar and terrestrial komatiites strongly implies a corresponding similarity between the compositions of their source regions in the lunar interior and the Earth's upper mantle. The composition of the lunar interior can be modelled more specifically by combining the komatiite composition with its liquidus olivine composition (as determined experimentally) in proportions chosen so as to produce a cosmochemically acceptable range of Mg/Si ratios for the bulk Moon. Except for higher FeO and lower Na₂O, the range of compositions thereby obtained for the bulk moon is very similar to the composition of the Earth's upper mantle.The effects of meteoritic contamination on the abundances of cobalt and nickel in lunar highland breccias were subtracted on the assumption that the contaminating projectiles were chondritic. The cobalt and nickel residuals thereby obtained were found to correlate strongly with the (Mg + Fe) content of the breccias, demonstrating that the Co and Ni are associated with the ferromagnesian component of the breccias and are genuinely indigenous to the Moon. The lunar highland Co and Ni residuals also display striking Ni/Co versus Ni correlations which follow a similar trend to those displayed by terrestrial basalts, picrites and komatiites. The lunar trends provide further decisive evidence of the indigenous nature of the Co and Ni residuals and suggest the operation of extensive fractionation controlled by olivine-liquid equilibria in producing the primitive component of the lunar breccias. Indigenous nickel abundances at the Apollo 14, 15 and 17 sites are much lower than at the Apollo 16 site, although rocks from all sites follow the same Ni/Co versus Ni trends. It is suggested that the primitive component at the Apollo 14, 15 and 17 sites was generally of basaltic composition, in contrast to the komatiitic nature of the Apollo 16 primitive component.     

Constraints on the origins of lunar magnetism from electron reflection measurements of surface magnetic fields

Apollo 15 and 16 subsatellite measurements of lunar surface magnetic fields by the electron reflection method are summarized. Patches of strong surface fields ranging from less than $\text{1}\text{4}$° to tens of degrees in size are found distributed over the lunar surface, but in general no obvious correlation is observed between field anomalies and surface geology. In lunar mare regions a positive statistical correlation is found between the surface field strength and the geologic age of the surface as determined from crater erosion studies. However, there is a lack of correlation of surface field with impact craters in the mare, implying that mare do not have a strong large-scale uniform magnetization as might be expected from an ancient lunar dynamo. This lack of correlation also indicates that mare impact processes do not generate strong magnetization coherent over ～ 10 km scale size. In the lunar highlands fields of >100 nT are found in a region of order 10 km wide and >300 km long centered on and paralleling the long linear rille, Rima Sirsalis. These fields imply that the rille has a strong magnetization (>5 × 10^?6 gauss cm³ gm^?1 associated with it, either in the form of intrusive, magnetized rock or as a gap in a uniformly magnetic layer of rock. However, a survey of seven lunar farside magnetic anomalies observed by the Apollo 16 subsatellite suggests a correlation with inner ejecta material from large impact basins. The implications of these results for the origin of lunar magnetism are discussed.     

Coupled motions of the inner core and possible geomagnetic implications

As the inner core is a good electrical conductor any ambient magnetic field would diffuse into it on a time scale long compared to several thousand years, and conversely be frozen there on shorter time scales. From the observations that the dipole component of the Earth's magnetic field has been inclined persistently to the spin axis over hundreds of thousands of years, and that the dipole drifts and decays significantly more slowly than the nondipole field, it is suggested that the external dipole is simply a manifestation of a field frozen in an inclined inner core. It is shown that the much neglected gravitational restoring torque can be significant for an inclined inner core, so much so that its motion is in the main determined by gravity, with electromagnetic and inertial coupling effects being of secondary importance. A regular precession of the inner core is shown to be possible where its spin axis drifts westward relative to the mantle with a period of ～ 7000 y. Some preliminary calculations of the possible motions of a gravitationally coupled mantle-inner core system are shown.     

The Néel transition and magnetic properties of terrestrial,synthetic, and lunar ilmenites

The magnetic susceptibility of a terrestrial, synthetic and lunar ilmenite specimen has been measured from 4 to 300 K. All specimens had a single Néel temperature transition which ranged from 56 to 57.7 K. In one case the powdered specimen was partially aligned in the magnetic field prior to the susceptibility measurements and the Néel transition was observed to shift to 60 K indicating magnetic anisotropy. A study of several magnetic parameters calculated from the experimental data showed gross impurities in the terrestrial specimen, single-domain to multi-domain metallic iron in the synthetic specimen, and a small amount of superparamagnetic metallic iron in the lunar sample. No multidomain iron was observed in the lunar ilmenite. The results of electron spin resonance measurements were also in general agreement with these findings. Because of the absence of Fe³⁺ compared to most terrestrial samples it is suggested that the anisotropic magnetic parameters be determined on lunar ilmenite when a large enough single crystal becomes available.     

月球内部构造研究综述

回顾了月震观测的历史,归纳出月震的特点,并将月震分成热震、浅震和深震三种类型加以.分析总结出一个比较完整的月球内部构造模型.在此基础上,详细介绍了如何根据月震观测资料确定月壳和月幔.本文还对月核存在的可能性加以阐述,指出由于月球1100 km以下数据的缺乏,到目前为止没有确切的证明月核存在的证据.最后,紧密关注月球构造研究的最新进展,给出了月核可能存在的形式：半径为352 km（成分为纯Fe）或者374 km（成分为Fe-FeS晶体）.     

Past and present magnetism of the Moon

The characteristics of the remanent magnetism of lunar samples suggests that it was acquired in a magnetic field on the Moon. The most likely origin of the field is a dynamo process in a molten, electricallyconducting core, but generation of a transient magnetic field during large meteorite impacts cannot be entirely ruled out. The magnetizing process may be thermoremanence, acquired when the rocks cooled through, the Curie point of the constituent iron grains which carry the remanent magnetization, or it may involve shock at the time of a meteorite impact, with or without a partial thermoremanence arising from heating.Evidence from absolute and relative determinations of the ancient field strength from the sample magnetizations strongly favours a global lunar field. This is implied by a trend which shows the field rising to a maximum value of 100 T between about 3.9–3.7 by ago and then decaying to 5–10 T until3.1 by. Such a systematic variation of field with time is not expected to be derived from magnetizations acquired in transient, impact-generated fields varying randomly in intensity.Contributory evidence for a dynamo field is provided by measurements of present lunar surface fields, the present very small dipole moment of the Moon and accumulating evidence of variation of the axis of the lunar field with time. Although there is no direct evidence for the existence of a lunar core the relevant observations are consistent with the presence of a core of up to 400 km, in radius. There are some difficulties associated with the lunar dynamo mechanism and its energy source but the evidence for a lunar dynamo is accumulating, with important implications for the structure and thermal history of the Moon.     

Theories for the origin of lunar magnetism

This paper reviews the major theories which have been proposed to explain the remanent magnetism found in the lunar crust. A total of nine different mechanisms for lunar magnetism are discussed and evaluated in the light of the theoretical and experimental constraints pertinent to lunar magnetism. We conclude that none of these theories in their present state of development satisfy all the known constraints. However, the theories which agree best with our present understanding of the Moon are meteorite impact magnetization, thermoelectric dynamo field generation, and an early solar wind field.     

Formation of Paleoproterozoic eclogitic mantle, Slave Province (Canada): Insights from in-situ Hf and U–Pb isotopic analyses of mantle zircons

In-situ Hf isotope analyses and U–Pb dates were obtained by laser ablation-MC-ICP-MS for a zircon-bearing mantle eclogite xenolith from the diamondiferous Jericho kimberlite located within the Archean Slave Province (Nunavut), Canada. The U–Pb zircon results yield a wide range of ages (2.0 to 0.8 Ga) indicating a complex geological history. Of importance, one zircon yields a U–Pb upper intercept date of 1989 ± 67 Ma, providing a new minimum age constraint for zircon crystallization and eclogite formation. In contrast, Hf isotope systematics for the same zircons display an intriguing uniformity, and corresponding Hf depleted mantle model ages range between 2.1 ± 0.1 and 2.3 ± 0.1 Ga; the youngest Hf model age is within error to the oldest U–Pb date.

The Jericho eclogites have previously been interpreted as representing remnants of metamorphosed oceanic crust, and their formation related to Paleoproterozoic subduction regimes along the western margin of the Archean Slave craton during the Wopmay orogeny. Hf isotope compositions and U–Pb results for the Jericho zircons reported here are in good agreement with a Paleoproterozoic subduction model, suggesting that generation of oceanic crust and eclogite formation occurred between 2.0 and 2.1 Ga. The slightly older Hf depleted mantle model ages (2.1 to 2.3 Ga) may be reconciled with this model by invoking mixing between ‘crustal’-derived Hf from sediments and more radiogenic Hf associated with the oceanic crust during the 2 Ga subduction event. This results in intermediate Hf isotope compositions for the Jericho zircons that yield ‘fictitiously’ older Hf model ages.     

Evolution of continental crust in southern Africa

Nd isotopic data from the Zimbabwe and Kaapvaal cratons and the Limpopo, Kalahari, Namaqualand and Damara mobile belts imply that over 50% of present-day continental crust in this region had separated from the mantle by the end of the Archaean and that< 10% of continental crust of southern Africa has formed in the last 1.0 Ga. Such a growth rate implies that average erosion rates through geological time were high and that evolution of continental crust has been dominated by crustal growth prior to 1.4 Ga, and crustal reworking since that time. The evolution of average crust is not represented directly by clastic sediment samples but may be determined from sediment analyses if both the time of orogeneses and the average erosion rate are known. Both trace element data from southern Africa granitoids and the high erosion rates implied by the isotopic study suggest that growth of continental crust in the Archaean was by underplating rather than lateral accretion, but arc accretion was the dominant mechanism after 2.0 Ga.     

Serpentinization of the martian crust during Noachian

This paper proposes a model of serpentinization of the Southern martian crust that may explain the topographic dichotomy, the absence of an associated free-air gravity anomaly and the presence of strong magnetic anomalies in the Southern Hemisphere. The thermodynamical conditions for serpentinization were likely met in the lithosphere during the Noachian period. This process may have decreased the density in the Southern crust and created the topographic dichotomy. Different reactions of serpentinization that can form magnetite have been considered. Assuming an intense magnetic field (core dynamo), we obtain chemical remanent magnetizations that are in the order of the estimates deduced from martian magnetic anomaly studies. The pertinence and the implications of our model concerning the early thermal evolution of Mars are discussed, with emphasis on the intensity of the paleo-magnetic field.     

应用Lane-Emden方程分析下月幔厚度与月核半径大小

文中取圈层结构和球对称形态为月球的基本结构假设,并以月球平均密度和无量纲惯性矩作为约束,数值求解月球Lane-Emden方程,得到下月幔厚度和月核大小的变化范围.结果表明月核的密度在4.7 ~7.0 g/cm3范围内变化时,月核半径的变化范围为704~356 km,相应的月幔厚度的变化范围约为33～381 km,月核占月球总质量的百分比在0.6%～7%之间变化.所得结果可为后续的关于月球内部结构的研究提供一定的参考.     

A conceptual model for kimberlite emplacement by solitary interfacial mega-waves on the core mantle boundary

If convection in the Earth's liquid outer core is disrupted, degrades to turbulence and begins to behave in a chaotic manner, it will destabilize the Earth's magnetic field and provide the seeds for kimberlite melts via turbulent jets of silicate rich core material which invade the lower mantle. These (proto-) melts may then be captured by extreme amplitude solitary nonlinear waves generated through interaction of the outer core surface with the base of the mantle. A pressure differential behind the wave front then provides a mechanism for the captured melt to ascend to the upper mantle and crust so quickly that emplacement may indirectly promote a type of impact fracture cone within the relatively brittle crust. These waves are very rare but of finite probability. The assumption of turbulence transmission between layers is justified using a simple three-layer liquid model. The core derived melts eventually become frozen in place as localised topographic highs in the Mohorovicic discontinuity (Moho), or as deep rooted intrusive events. The intrusion's final composition is a function of melt contamination by two separate sources: the core contaminated mantle base and subducted Archean crust. The mega-wave hypothesis offers a plausible vehicle for early stage emplacement of kimberlite pipes and explains the age association of diamondiferous kimberlites with magnetic reversals and tectonic plate rearrangements.     

The age of ferroan anorthosite 60025: oldest crust on a young Moon?

SmNd isotopic data for mineral separates from the ferroan anorthosite 60025 define a precise isochron of 4.44 ± 0.02Ga age. This age is roughly 110 m.y. younger than the formation of the first large solid objects in the solar nebula, as recorded by the radiometric ages of the differentiated meteorites. In the magma ocean model for early lunar differentiation, ferroan anorthosites are the first crustal rocks to form on the Moon. If the Moon is as old as the oldest meteorites, the relatively young age determined for 60025 implies either that the magma ocean did not form synchronously with lunar formation, or that the magma ocean required over 100 m.y. before reaching the stage of ferroan anorthosite crystallization. Alternatively, we propose that the accumulated body of radiogenic isotope data for lunar rocks permit the Moon to be as young as 4.44–4.51 Ga. If so, isotopic evidence for chemical differentiation on the Earth at about this same time suggests that the formation of the Moon is reflected in the chemical evolution of the Earth. This, in turn, is consistent with the idea that the materials that now make up the Moon were derived from the Earth, perhaps ejected by collision between the Earth and another very large planetesimal during the final stages of accumulation of the terrestrial planets. Terrestrial origin models for the Moon lessen the requirement that the Earth and Moon each have near chondritic relative abundances of the refractory elements and could require that certain chemical and isotopic characteristics of both bodies be considered in the framework of the chemical mass-balance of the combined Earth-Moon system.