MSGID: 1:317/3 64a643b4   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Large sub-surface granite formation signals ancient volcanic activity on   
   Moon's dark side    
    Microwave frequency data from lunar orbiter reveals deposit of cooled   
   magma beneath a volcano that likely erupted 3.5 billion years ago    
      
     Date:   
         July 5, 2023   
     Source:   
         Southern Methodist University   
     Summary:   
         A large formation of granite discovered below the lunar surface   
         likely was formed from the cooling of molten lava that fed a   
         volcano or volcanoes that erupted early in the Moon's history --   
         as long as 3.5 billion years ago.   
      
      
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   A large formation of granite discovered below the lunar surface likely was   
   formed from the cooling of molten lava that fed a volcano or volcanoes   
   that erupted early in the Moon's history -- as long as 3.5 billion   
   years ago.   
      
   A team of scientists led by Matthew Siegler, an SMU research professor and   
   research scientist with the Planetary Science Institute, has published   
   a study in Naturethat used microwave frequency data to measure heat   
   below the surface of a suspected volcanic feature on the Moon known as   
   Compton-Belkovich. The team used the data to determine that the heat   
   being generated below the surface is coming from a concentration of   
   radioactive elements that can only exist on the Moon as granite.   
      
   Granites are the igneous rock remnants of the plumbing systems below   
   extinct volcanos. The granite formation left when lava cools without   
   erupting is known as a batholith.   
      
   "Any big body of granite that we find on Earth used to feed a big bunch   
   of volcanoes, much like a large system is feeding the Cascade volcanoes   
   in the Pacific Northwest today," Siegler said. "Batholiths are much   
   bigger than the volcanoes they feed on the surface. For example, the   
   Sierra Nevada mountains are a batholith, left from a volcanic chain in   
   the western United States that existed long ago."  The lunar batholith   
   is located in a region of the Moon previously identified as a volcanic   
   complex, but researchers are surprised at its size, with an estimated   
   diameter of 50 kilometers.   
      
   Granite is somewhat common on Earth, and its formation is generally   
   driven by water and plate tectonics, which aid in creating large melt   
   bodies below the Earth's surface. However, granites are extremely rare   
   on the Moon, which lacks these processes.   
      
   Finding this granite body helps explain how the early lunar crust formed.   
      
   "If you don't have water it takes extreme situations to make granite,"   
   Siegler said. "So, here's this system with no water, and no plate   
   tectonics -- but you have granite.   
      
   Was there water on the moon -- at least in this one spot? Or was it just   
   especially hot?"  Research team members included Jianquing Fang, from   
   the Planetary Science Institute; Katelyn Lehman-Franco, Rita Economos and   
   Mackenzie White from SMU; Jeffrey Andrews-Hanna from Southwest Research   
   Institute; Michael St. Clair and Chase Million from Million Concepts;   
   James Head III from Brown University and Timothy Glotch from Stony   
   Brook University.   
      
   The work was funded through NASA's Lunar Data Analysis Program and work   
   related to the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Diviner Lunar Radiometer.   
      
   Data for the study was obtained from public data released from   
   two Chinese lunar orbiters, Chang'E-1 in 2010 and Chang'E-2 in   
   2012, carrying four-channel microwave radiometer instruments. The   
   original Chang'E?1 and Chang'E-2 MRM data can be downloaded from:   
   http://moon.bao.ac.cn/index_en.jsp.   
      
   Siegler will be presenting the team's research at the upcoming Goldschmidt   
   Conference, scheduled for July 9-14 in Lyon, France.   
      
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   Related Multimedia:   
       * Suspected_volcanic_feature_on_the_Moon_known_as_Compton-Belkovich   
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   Journal Reference:   
      1. Siegler, M.A., Feng, J., Lehman-Franco, K. et al. Remote detection   
      of a   
         lunar granitic batholith at Compton-Belkovich. Nature, 2023 DOI:   
         10.1038/ s41586-023-06183-5   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230705122456.htm   
      
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