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- Title
Long-lived lunar volcanism sustained by precession-driven core-mantle friction.
- Authors
Yu, Shuoran; Xiao, Xiao; Gong, Shengxia; Tosi, Nicola; Huang, Jun; Breuer, Doris; Xiao, Long; Ni, Dongdong
- Abstract
Core-mantle friction induced by the precession of the Moon's spin axis is a strong heat source in the deep lunar mantle during the early phase of a satellite's evolution, but its influence on the long-term thermal evolution still remains poorly explored. Using a one-dimensional thermal evolution model, we show that core-mantle friction can sustain global-scale partial melting in the upper lunar mantle until ∼3.1 Ga, thus accounting for the intense volcanic activity on the Moon before ∼3.0 Ga. Besides, core-mantle friction tends to suppress the secular cooling of the lunar core and is unlikely to be an energy source for the long-lived lunar core dynamo. Our model also favours the transition of the Cassini state before the end of the lunar magma ocean phase (∼4.2 Ga), which implies a decreasing lunar obliquity over time after the solidification of the lunar magma ocean. Such a trend of lunar obliquity evolution may allow volcanically released water to be buried in the lunar regolith of the polar regions. As a consequence, local water ice could be more abundant than previously thought when considering only its accumulation caused by solar wind and comet spreading.
- Subjects
LUNAR soil; FRICTION; LONG-Term Evolution (Telecommunications); SOLAR wind; VOLCANISM; REGOLITH; ELECTRIC generators
- Publication
National Science Review, 2024, Vol 11, Issue 2, p1
- ISSN
2095-5138
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/nsr/nwad276