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Detectability of subsurface interfaces in lunar maria by the LRS/SELENE sounding radar: Influence of mineralogical composition
Author(s) -
Pommerol A.,
Kofman W.,
Audouard J.,
Grima C.,
Beck P.,
Mouginot J.,
Herique A.,
Kumamoto A.,
Kobayashi T.,
Ono T.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2009gl041681
Subject(s) - depth sounding , geology , basalt , lava , radar , ilmenite , clementine (nuclear reactor) , geophysics , regolith , remote sensing , mineralogy , astrobiology , geochemistry , volcano , physics , telecommunications , oceanography , computer science
The Lunar Radar Sounder (LRS) of the SELENE mission has detected horizontal subsurface features at depths of a few hundreds of meters within all major lunar maria. We have mapped these features at global scale and found a heterogeneous geographical distribution, which correlates negatively with the maps of TiO 2 and FeO obtained from UV‐VIS measurements by the Clementine probe. High concentration of ilmenite (FeTiO 3 ) in the basaltic mare lava can explain this correlation, this mineral being a strong absorber for low frequency electromagnetic waves. Thus, absence of detection of subsurface interfaces by LRS on a large portion of lunar maria does not necessarily imply that these interfaces are actually absent.