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Exospheric transport restrictions on water ice in lunar polar trapsThere is little doubt that at least 10 exp 17 g of water has accreted on the moon as a result of the reduction of ferric iron at the regolith surface by solar wind protons, the vaporization of chondrites, and perhaps comet impacts. Lacking an efficient escape mechanism, most of this water (or its progeny) is probably on the moon now. If the water were to have migrated to permanently shaded cold traps near the lunar poles, ice deposts with densities greater than 1000 g/sq cm would cover the traps, providing accessible resources. However, exospheric transport considerations suggest that the actual amount of water ice in the cold traps is probably too small to be of practical interest. The alternative is global assimilation of most of the water into the regolith, a process that must account for about 30 micromoles of water per gram of soil.
Document ID
19920030339
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Hodges, R. R., Jr.
(Texas, University Dallas, United States)
Date Acquired
August 15, 2013
Publication Date
November 1, 1991
Publication Information
Publication: Geophysical Research Letters
Volume: 18
ISSN: 0094-8276
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Exploration
Accession Number
92A12963
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAGW-2490
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAGW-1665
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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