Megaregolith insulation, internal temperatures, and bulk uranium content of the moon

Finite-difference models are used to study the effects of insulation by the megaregolith on lunar thermal evolution. Results indicate that the megaregolith has two important influences on heat flow: (1) Because the megaregolith is exceptionally thin in mare regions, heat passes more readily through them than through highland regions, and even flows laterally from the highland toward the mare. As a result, heat flow is exceptionally high along a boundary between highland and mare regions. (2) On a global scale, megaregolith insulation combined with lithosphere insulation causes slow cooling, which as a cumulative effect results in high present-day mantle temperatures and heat flow. Assuming that the global mean megaregolith thickness is 2 km, a heat flow of 12 mW/sq m is best matched by models with bulk moon U contents of 20-21 ng/g. Independent constraints on lunar internal temperatures derived from magnetic and tectonic data are best matched by models with about 14 ng/g U. Thus the bulk moon U content is roughly 17 ng/g. These results imply that the bulk moon contents of U, and related refractory lithophile elements such as Th, Al, Ca, etc., must be considerably lower than commonly assumed.