A review of lunar paleointensity data and implications for the origin of lunar magnetism

A lunar surface field comparable in intensity to the earth's magnetic field, existing from 3.6 to 3.8 AE, is suggested by paleointensity estimation measurements of more than 50 lunar samples by means of the saturation remanence normalization method. The present data differ from previous descriptions of the lunar field's variation with time, in that the oldest samples are among the most weakly magnetized, and the time of extrusion of the Apollo 11 low and high potassium basalts is suggested to have dropped in paleointensity by an order of magnitude. The coincidence of the high field era with the termination of basin forming impacts at the beginning of mare basalt extrusion suggests a common cause, such as the close approach of the moon to the earth at 3.8 AE.