Lunar Surface Chemistry: A New Imaging Technique
CONSTANCE G. ANDRE 1,
MICHAEL J. BIELEFELD 2,
ERIC ELIASON 3,
LAURENCE A. SODERBLOM 3,
ISIDORE ADLER 1, and
JOHN A. PHILPOTTS 4
1 Chemistry Department, University of Maryland, College Park 20742
2 Computer Sciences Corporation, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
3 U. S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Arizona 86001
4 Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771
Detailed chemical maps of the lunar surface have been constructed by applying a new weighted-filter imaging technique to Apollo 15 and Apollo 16 x-ray fluorescence data. The data quality improvement is amply demonstrated by (i) modes in the frequency distribution, representing highland and mare soil suites, which are not evident before data filtering and (ii) numerous examples of chemical variations which are correlated with small-scale (about 15 kilometer) lunar topographic features.
Submitted on June 22, 1977
Revised on July 19, 1977
