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Full-Text Articles in Earth Sciences
Investigation Of Lunar Subsurface Cavities Using Thermal Inertia And Temperature Maximum To Minimum Ratios, Rachel Ann Slank
Investigation Of Lunar Subsurface Cavities Using Thermal Inertia And Temperature Maximum To Minimum Ratios, Rachel Ann Slank
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
Previous studies have revealed a small number of subsurface cavities, including lava tubes, as well as skylights, lava flow pits, and impact melt pits on the Moon. The interiors of subsurface cavities would have been protected from micrometeorite bombardment, solar radiation, space weathering, and extreme diurnal temperature swings over long periods of geologic time. As a result, subsurface cavities can provide access to pristine crustal samples and stratigraphy. These cavities may also harbor important volatiles, such as water ice, that would enable future exploration missions by relieving many operational constraints, including the supply of propellants and life support. In addition, …
Characterization Of Thrust Faults On The Moon Using Fault Dynamics And 3d Visualizations, Jaclyn Danielle Clark
Characterization Of Thrust Faults On The Moon Using Fault Dynamics And 3d Visualizations, Jaclyn Danielle Clark
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
Many small, lobate scarps, interpreted to be the surface traces of thrust faults, have been found all over Earth's moon by previous researchers. Fault dynamical calculations, assuming an initially completely molten Moon, have shown that these scarps can form due to compressional stresses that accumulate over time as the result of large-scale contraction of the Moon as it cooled. With high-resolution images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC), previously undetected lobate scarps can be found globally and viewed at high resolution. By investigating these fault scarps, we can determine better constraints on the amount of crustal shortening and improve …
Phreatomagmatic Activity On The Moon: Possibility Of Pseudocraters At Mare Frigoris, Jose Humberto Garcia
Phreatomagmatic Activity On The Moon: Possibility Of Pseudocraters At Mare Frigoris, Jose Humberto Garcia
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
The discovery of water on the Moon raises the possibility that lava-water, or phreatomagmatic, interactions have occurred on the lunar surface in the past. Such interactions may have formed pseudocraters, crater-like landforms that result from steam explosions that occur when lava flows come in contact with surface or near-surface water or ice. We present a study of Mare Frigoris, a volcanic plain just north of the Mare Imbrium impact basin on the Moon. Clusters of irregular, circular features on the basaltic lava flows in this area resemble pseudocrater fields in Iceland, and they are located in a region with inferred …