Lunar Fe and Ti abundances: comparison of lunar prospector and clementine data
The Lunar Prospector neutron spectrometer data correlate well with iron and titanium abundances obtained through analysis of Clementine spectral reflectance data. With the iron and titanium dependence removed, the neutron spectrometer data also reveal regions with enhanced amounts of gadolinium and samarium, incompatible rare earth elements that are enriched in the final phases of magma crystallization. These regions are found mainly around the ramparts of the Imbrium impact basin but not around the other basins, including the much larger and deeper South Pole-Aitken basin. This result confirms the compositional uniqueness of the surface and interior of the Imbrium region.
Elphic
RC
R. C. Elphic, D. J. Lawrence, W. C. Feldman, B. L. Barraclough, Space and Atmospheric Sciences, MS D466, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA. S. Maurice, Observatoire Midi-Pyrenees, 31400 Toulouse, France. A. B.
Lawrence
DJ
Feldman
WC
Barraclough
BL
Maurice
S
Binder
AB
Lucey
PG