Persistence and origin of the lunar core dynamo
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Suavet-2013-Persistence and origin.pdf
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2.02 MB
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Checksum (MD5)
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Author(s)
Suavet, Clement Romain
Weiss, Benjamin P.
Cassata, William S.
Shuster, David L.
Gattacceca, Jerome
Chan, Lindsey
Head, James W.
Grove, Timothy L.
Fuller, Michael D.
Garrick-Bethell, Ian, 1980-
Date Issued
May 2013
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publisher
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
Citation
Suavet, C., B. P. Weiss, W. S. Cassata, D. L. Shuster, J. Gattacceca, L. Chan, I. Garrick-Bethell, J. W. Head, T. L. Grove, and M. D. Fuller. “Persistence and Origin of the Lunar Core Dynamo.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110, no. 21 (May 21, 2013): 8453–8458.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
The lifetime of the ancient lunar core dynamo has implications for its power source and the mechanism of field generation. Here, we report analyses of two 3.56-Gy-old mare basalts demonstrating that they were magnetized in a stable and surprisingly intense dynamo magnetic field of at least ∼13 μT. These data extend the known lifetime of the lunar dynamo by ∼160 My and indicate that the field was likely continuously active until well after the final large basin-forming impact. This likely excludes impact-driven changes in rotation rate as the source of the dynamo at this time in lunar history. Rather, our results require a persistent power source like precession of the lunar mantle or a compositional convection dynamo.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1300341110
