Lunar Crust: Structure and Composition
M. N. Toksöz 1,
F. Press 1,
K. Anderson 1,
A. Dainty 1,
G. Latham 2,
M. Ewing 2,
J. Dorman 2,
D. Lammlein 2,
G. Sutton 3,
F. Duennebier 3, and
Y. Nakamura 4
1 Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139
2 Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, New York 10964
3 University of Hawaii, Honolulu 96822
4 General Dynamics Corporation, Fort Worth, Texas 76101
Lunar seismic data from artificial impacts recorded at three Apollo seismometers are interpreted to determine the structure of the moon's interior to a depth of about 100 kilomneters. In the Fra Mauro region of Oceanus Procellarum, the moon has a layered crust 65 kilometers thick. The seismic velocities in the upper 25 kilometers are consistent with those in lunar basalts. Between 25 and 65 kilometers, the nearly constant velocity (6.8 kilometers per second) corresponds to velocities in gabbroic and anorthositic rocks. The apparent velocity is high (about 9 kilometers per second) in the lunar mantle immediately below the crust.
