The global distribution of calcium on the Moon: Implications for high-Ca pyroxene in the eastern mare region

N. Yamashita*, O. Gasnault, O. Forni, C. d'Uston, R. C. Reedy, Y. Karouji, S. Kobayashi, M. Hareyama, H. Nagaoka, Nobuyuki Hasebe, K. J. Kim

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    22 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The first unambiguous global distribution of Ca on the Moon has been revealed by the Kaguya Gamma-Ray Spectrometer. The observation of the 3737keV gamma rays from 40Ca with a high energy resolution Ge detector, corrected for fast neutrons, improved greatly our confidence in these remote sensing data. While the derived Ca abundance generally confirms the mare-highland dichotomy, we found that the eastern mare regions such as Crisium, Nectaris, and Fecunditatis exhibit unexpected high Ca abundances. This may be explained by regional concentrations of high-Ca clinopyroxene. Our Ca map also shows that the lowest CaO abundance found in the returned samples (~8wt%) may actually be common in Oceanus Procellarum, suggesting the possible sampling bias of Apollo and Luna missions. These observational results on Ca serve as a complementary criterion for better characterization of mare regions on the Moon.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)93-98
    Number of pages6
    JournalEarth and Planetary Science Letters
    Volume353-354
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2012 Nov 1

    Keywords

    • Calcium
    • Gamma-ray spectroscopy
    • High-Ca pyroxene
    • Kaguya
    • Moon
    • SELENE

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Geochemistry and Petrology
    • Geophysics
    • Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)
    • Space and Planetary Science

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'The global distribution of calcium on the Moon: Implications for high-Ca pyroxene in the eastern mare region'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this