Absence of a long-lived lunar paleomagnetosphere



Tarduno, John A, Cottrell, Rory D, Lawrence, Kristin, Bono, Richard K ORCID: 0000-0002-8222-2218, Huang, Wentao, Johnson, Catherine L, Blackman, Eric G, Smirnov, Aleksey V, Nakajima, Miki, Neal, Clive R
et al (show 4 more authors) (2021) Absence of a long-lived lunar paleomagnetosphere. SCIENCE ADVANCES, 7 (32). eabi7647-.

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Abstract

Determining the presence or absence of a past long-lived lunar magnetic field is crucial for understanding how the Moon's interior and surface evolved. Here, we show that Apollo impact glass associated with a young 2 million-year-old crater records a strong Earth-like magnetization, providing evidence that impacts can impart intense signals to samples recovered from the Moon and other planetary bodies. Moreover, we show that silicate crystals bearing magnetic inclusions from Apollo samples formed at ∼3.9, 3.6, 3.3, and 3.2 billion years ago are capable of recording strong core dynamo-like fields but do not. Together, these data indicate that the Moon did not have a long-lived core dynamo. As a result, the Moon was not sheltered by a sustained paleomagnetosphere, and the lunar regolith should hold buried <sup>3</sup>He, water, and other volatile resources acquired from solar winds and Earth's magnetosphere over some 4 billion years.

Item Type: Article
Divisions: Faculty of Science and Engineering > School of Environmental Sciences
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 11 Nov 2021 10:28
Last Modified: 10 Feb 2024 03:01
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abi7647
Open Access URL: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abi7647
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URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3143041