Rapid solidification of Earth’s magma ocean limits early lunar recession

The lunar magma ocean: Reconciling the solidification process with lunar petrology and geochronology

PSRD: Crystallizing the Lunar Magma Ocean

central tenet of lunar science is that the Moon was surrounded by a huge ocean of magma when it formed. Originally thought to be a few hundred kilometers deep, lunar scientists now think that the entire Moon was initially molten. Numerous geochemical models have been constructed for the crystallization of the magma ocean. All the calculations use computer programs based on experimental data, bu...

The chlorine isotope fingerprint of the lunar magma ocean.

The Moon contains chlorine that is isotopically unlike that of any other body yet studied in the Solar System, an observation that has been interpreted to support traditional models of the formation of a nominally hydrogen-free ("dry") Moon. We have analyzed abundances and isotopic compositions of Cl and H in lunar mare basalts, and find little evidence that anhydrous lava outgassing was import...

On the Scale of Lunar Mantle Overturn following Magma Ocean Fractional Solidification: the Role for Multiple Scales of Convective Motion,

Introduction: In understanding the evolution of the Moon, a number of its fundamental magmatic characteristics must be explained in the context of other geophysical and geological observations. Volcanic activity subsequent to the formation of anorthositic crust was dominated by the eruption of mare basalt. (1) The main phase of mare volcanism began ~500 Myr after the crystallization of the anor...

Crystallization of a Lunar Magma Ocean: Preliminary Experimental Results

Introduction: Although the Lunar Magma Ocean (LMO) hypothesis has achieved wide acceptance in the lunar science community, it has never been fully tested experimentally. Presented here are the first results of equilibrium crystallization experiments using the Taylor Whole Moon (TWM) composition [1]. The first mafic cumulates in this LMO are dominated by forsteritic olivine, low-Ca pyroxene and,...