Structure, composition, and properties of lunar crust.Lunar seismic data from three Apollo seismometers are interpreted to determine the structure of the moon's interior to a depth of about 100 km. The travel times and amplitudes of P and S arrivals from Saturn IV-B and LM impacts are interpreted in terms of a velocity profile. The most outstanding feature of the model is that, in the Fra Mauro region of Oceanus Procellarum, the moon has a 65 km-thick layered crust. Other features of the model are: (1) rapid increase of velocity near the surface due to pressure effects on dry rocks, (2) a discontinuity at a depth of about 25 km, (3) near-constant velocities between 25 and 65 km deep, (4) a major discontinuity at 65 km marking the base of the lunar crust, and (5) very high apparent velocities (about 9 km/sec for P waves) in the lunar mantle below the crust.
Document ID
19730035047
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Authors
Toksoz, M. N.
Press, F.
Dainty, A.
Anderson, K. (MIT Cambridge, Mass., United States)
Latham, G.
Ewing, M.
Dorman, J.
Lammlein, D. (Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory Palisades, N.Y., United States)
Sutton, G.
Duennebier, F. (Hawaii, University Honolulu, Hawaii, United States)