Evidence of Recent Thrust Faulting on the Moon Revealed by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera

Watters, T. R.; Robinson, M. S.; Beyer, R. A.; Banks, M. E.; Bell, James F.; Pritchard, M. E.; Hiesinger, H.; Bogert, C. H. van der; Thomas, P. C.; Turtle, E. P.; Williams, Nathan

doi:10.1126/science.1189590

Cited by 146 publications

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“…• E) and are spatially correlated with a narrow rise along the crest of the scarp face and the elevated back-limb terrain 3 . Newly detected graben found in the back-limb terrain of the Madler scarp (∼10.8…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Basin-related extensional tectonic activity ceased about 3.6 Gyr ago, whereas contractional tectonics continued until about 1.2 Gyr ago 2 . In the lunar highlands, relatively young contractional lobate scarps, less than 1 Gyr in age, were first identified in Apollo-era photographs 3 . However, no evidence of extensional landforms was found beyond the influence of mare basalt-filled basins and floor-fractured craters.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…2, plate 6) (Supplementary Note S1). The dominant contractional tectonic landform found outside of mare basins are lobate scarps 2,3 . These small-scale scarps are thought to be the surface expression of thrust faults 3 .…”

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confidence: 99%

“…The dominant contractional tectonic landform found outside of mare basins are lobate scarps 2,3 . These small-scale scarps are thought to be the surface expression of thrust faults 3 . Crosscutting relations with Copernican-age, small-diameter impact craters indicate the lobate scarps are relatively young, less than 1 Gyr old (ref.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Crosscutting relations with Copernican-age, small-diameter impact craters indicate the lobate scarps are relatively young, less than 1 Gyr old (ref. 3).…”

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Recent extensional tectonics on the Moon revealed by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera

et al. 2012

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Large-scale expressions of lunar tectonics-contractional wrinkle ridges and extensional rilles or graben-are directly related to stresses induced by mare basalt-filled basins 1,2 . Basin-related extensional tectonic activity ceased about 3.6 Gyr ago, whereas contractional tectonics continued until about 1.2 Gyr ago 2 . In the lunar highlands, relatively young contractional lobate scarps, less than 1 Gyr in age, were first identified in Apollo-era photographs 3 . However, no evidence of extensional landforms was found beyond the influence of mare basalt-filled basins and floor-fractured craters. Here we identify previously undetected small-scale graben in the farside highlands and in the mare basalts in images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera. Crosscut impact craters with diameters as small as about 10 m, a lack of superposed craters, and graben depths as shallow as ∼1 m suggest these pristine-appearing graben are less than 50 Myr old. Thus, the young graben indicate recent extensional tectonic activity on the Moon where extensional stresses locally exceeded compressional stresses. We propose that these findings may be inconsistent with a totally molten early Moon, given that thermal history models for this scenario predict a high level of late-stage compressional stress [4][5][6] that might be expected to completely suppress the formation of graben.Basin-localized lunar tectonics resulted in both basin-radial and basin-concentric graben and wrinkle ridges. Typically, basinlocalized graben are found near basin margins and in the adjacent highlands whereas wrinkle ridges are restricted to the basin interior (ref. 2, plate 6) (Supplementary Note S1). The dominant contractional tectonic landform found outside of mare basins are lobate scarps 2,3 . These small-scale scarps are thought to be the surface expression of thrust faults 3 . Crosscutting relations with Copernican-age, small-diameter impact craters indicate the lobate scarps are relatively young, less than 1 Gyr old (ref. 3).Small-scale graben revealed in 0.5-2.0 m/pixel Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) images are often associated with lobate scarps (Supplementary Note S2). These graben were first found in the back-limb area of the Lee-Lincoln scarp 3,7 (∼20.3• N, 30.5• E) and are spatially correlated with a narrow rise along the crest of the scarp face and the elevated back-limb terrain 3 . Newly detected graben found in the back-limb terrain of the Madler scarp (∼10.8• S, 31.8 • E; Supplementary Fig. S1) are located ∼2.5 km from the scarp face (Fig. 1a). The orientation of these graben is roughly perpendicular to the trend of the scarp. The dimensions of the graben vary, with the largest being ∼40 m wide and ∼500 m long. Graben in the back-limb area of the Pasteur scarp (∼8.6• S, 100.6 • E; Supplementary Fig. S1) are ∼1.2 km from the scarp face (Fig. 1b). Unlike the Madler graben, the orientation of the Pasteur graben are subparallel to the scarp and extend for ∼1.5 km, with the largest ∼300 m in length and 2...

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“…Crosscutting relations with Copernican-age, small-diameter impact craters indicate the lobate scarps are relatively young, less than 1 Gyr old (ref. 3).…”

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Recent extensional tectonics on the Moon revealed by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera

et al. 2012

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Recent shallow moonquake and impact-triggered boulder falls on the Moon: New insights from the Schrödinger basin

Kumar

Sruthi

Krishna

et al. 2016

J. Geophys. Res. Planets

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Shallow moonquakes are thought to be of tectonic origin. However, the geologic structures responsible for these moonquakes are unknown. Here we report sites where moonquakes possibly occurred along young lobate scarps in the Schrödinger basin. Our analysis of Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Chandrayaan‐1 images revealed four lobate scarps in different parts of the Schrödinger basin. The scarps crosscut small fresh impact craters (<10–30 m) suggesting a young age for the scarps. A 28 km long scarp (Scarp 1) yields a minimum age of 11 Ma based on buffered crater counting, while others are 35–82 Ma old. The topography of Scarp 1 suggests a range of horizontal shortening (10–30 m) across the fault. Two scarps are associated with boulder falls in which several boulders rolled and bounced on nearby slopes. A cluster of a large number of boulder falls near Scarp 1 indicates that the scarp was seismically active recently. A low runout efficiency of the boulders (~2.5) indicates low to moderate levels of ground shaking, which we interpret to be related to low‐magnitude moonquakes in the scarp. Boulder falls are also observed in other parts of the basin, where we mapped >1500 boulders associated with trails and bouncing marks. Their origins are largely controlled by recent impact events. Ejecta rays and secondary crater chains from a 14 km diameter impact crater traversed Schrödinger and triggered significant boulder falls about 17 Ma. Therefore, a combination of recent shallow moonquakes and impact events triggered the boulder falls in the Schrödinger basin.

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Limits on the brittle strength of planetary lithospheres undergoing global contraction

Klimczak

2015

JGR Planets

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The degree and depth of fracturing of the lithospheres of Mars, Mercury, and the Moon remain poorly known. It is these two properties, however, that govern the mechanical behavior of a planetary lithosphere. Considering the lithosphere as a cohesive rock mass that consists of small and large blocky, interlocked rock fragments, as opposed to an intact body or a body entirely lacking cohesion, provides insight into the effect of lithospheric fracturing on tectonic processes on these bodies. Characterization of the near‐surface lithospheric brittle strength that incorporates the degree of fracturing is necessary for a realistic assessment of the lithospheric response to global contraction resulting from interior secular cooling. Such an assessment shows that all of these bodies could have accommodated substantial amounts of global contraction prior to the formation of thrust fault‐related landforms. In fact, their lithospheres were sufficiently strong so as to experience changes in radius of as much as 2.2 ± 0.4 km (Mars), 2.1 ± 0.4 km (Mercury), and 1.4 ± 0.3 km (the Moon) prior to the onset of widespread thrust faulting. These values imply that the process of global contraction begins before any evidence of it is established in the geologic record, requiring an earlier onset, and for Mars and Mercury a faster initial strain rate, of global contraction than previously thought. Such results add a heretofore unrecognized component of planetary radial decrease with implications for timing and strain rate to studies of global contraction on Mars, Mercury, and the Moon, in particular, and to planetary bodies, in general.

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Evidence of Recent Thrust Faulting on the Moon Revealed by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera

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Cited by 146 publications

References 22 publications

Recent extensional tectonics on the Moon revealed by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera

Recent extensional tectonics on the Moon revealed by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera

Recent shallow moonquake and impact-triggered boulder falls on the Moon: New insights from the Schrödinger basin

Limits on the brittle strength of planetary lithospheres undergoing global contraction

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