Quick
Search: 		  
advanced search
 GSW Home   GeoRef Home   My GSW Alerts   Contact GSW   About GSW   Journals List   Help 
Geology Signup for GSW Email News
JOURNAL HOME HELP CONTACT PUBLISHER SUBSCRIBE ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Geology; February, 2008; v. 36; no. 2; p. 135-138; DOI: 10.1130/G24310A.1
© 2008 Geological Society of America
This Article
Right arrow Figures Only
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Web of Science (3)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Campbell, B. A.
Right arrow Articles by Ghent, R. R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
GeoRef
Right arrow GeoRef Citation

Volcanic and impact deposits of the Moon's Aristarchus Plateau: A new view from Earth-based radar images

Bruce A. Campbell1, Lynn M. Carter1, B. Ray Hawke2, Donald B. Campbell3 and Rebecca R. Ghent4

1 Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, Smithsonian Institution, MRC 315, Washington D.C. 20013-7012, USA
2 Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawai'i, 1680 East-West Road, Honolulu, Hawai'i 96822, USA
3 Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
4 Department of Geology, University of Toronto, Earth Sciences Centre, 22 Russell Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3B1, Canada

Lunar pyroclastic deposits reflect an explosive stage of the basaltic volcanism that filled impact basins across the nearside. These fine-grained mantling layers are of interest for their association with early mare volcanic processes, and as possible sources of volatiles and other species for lunar outposts. We present Earth-based radar images, at 12.6 and 70 cm wavelengths, of the pyroclastic deposit that blankets the Aristarchus Plateau. The 70 cm data reveal the outlines of a lava-flow complex that covers a significant portion of the plateau and appears to have formed by spillover of magma from the large sinuous rille Vallis Schröteri. The pyroclastics mantling these flows are heavily contaminated with rocks 10 cm and larger in diameter. The 12.6 cm data confirm that other areas are mantled by 20 m or less of material, and that there are numerous patches of 2 cm and larger rocks associated with ejecta from Aristarchus crater. Some of the radar-detected rocky debris is within the mantling material and is not evident in visible-wavelength images. The radar data identify thick, rock-poor areas of the pyroclastic deposit best suited for resource exploitation.

Key Words: radar • moon • volcanism • cratering • impact deposits • pyroclastic






JOURNAL HOME HELP CONTACT PUBLISHER SUBSCRIBE ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2009 by Geological Society of America