High-resolution lunar radar map at 70-cm wavelength

Thompson, T. W.

doi:10.1007/bf00054324

Cited by 56 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…This interpolation for the 4.2 cm wavelength of the LRO X band Mini-RF yields values basically equal to the 3.8 cm values given by Hagfors [1970]. Also, Thompson [1974 and1987] reported that on average the 70 cm radar backscatter for the terra, the lunar highlands, are twice (3 dB) that of the maria. If these differences exist at the 13 cm and 4 cm wavelengths of the Chandrayaan-1 and LRO radars, then the average echoes in the polar regions of the Moon will be 1.4 (1.5 dB) stronger than those given in equation (1) and shown in Figure 1.…”

Section: Overview Of Lunar Radar Scatteringsupporting

confidence: 54%

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Modeling radar scattering from icy lunar regoliths at 13 cm and 4 cm wavelengths

Thompson¹,

Ustinov²,

Heggy³

2011

J. Geophys. Res.

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[1] Two orbital synthetic aperture radars (SARs), the Chandrayaan-1 Mini-SAR (13 cm wavelength) and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Mini-RF (13 and 4.2 cm wavelengths), have been imaging the lunar surface searching for ice deposits in the polar permanently shadowed areas. To understand the radar signatures of lunar polar ices, an empirical two-component model with parametric variations of the specular and diffuse components was developed and validated. This model estimates scattering differences associated with slopes, surface roughness, thin regolith over ice, and patches of ice. Lunar radar backscatter cross sections for the average surface for the Chandrayaan-1 and LRO instruments are estimated from the radar cross sections from the Moon at 3.8, 23, and 68 cm wavelengths measured in the 1960s at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This modeling predicts that enhanced diffuse scattering from near-surface ice can be separated from rocks if the scattering is characterized by both the high reflectivity and circular polarization ratios (CPRs) like those observed on Mercury, Mars, and the Galilean satellites. Scattering from near-surface ices covered by a thin regolith can be separated from rocks if the enhancement is twice the average or more. If, however, the lunar ice is dispersed throughout the regolith as ice-filling pores, then scattering differences might be too small to detect. Preliminary validation using LRO radar data for a few polar and midlatitude craters indicate that the observed CPRs are consistent with our models for different regolith ice and roughness conditions. Citation: Thompson, T. W., E. A. Ustinov, and E. Heggy (2011), Modeling radar scattering from icy lunar regoliths at 13 cm and 4 cm wavelengths,

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Section: Overview Of Lunar Radar Scatteringsupporting

confidence: 54%

“…The large rock in the foreground is a few tens of centimeters across. [Thompson, 1987]. The 2:1 scattering difference between maria and terra is evident for both polarizations.…”

Section: Overview Of Lunar Radar Scatteringmentioning

confidence: 86%

Modeling radar scattering from icy lunar regoliths at 13 cm and 4 cm wavelengths

Thompson¹,

Ustinov²,

Heggy³

2011

J. Geophys. Res.

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“…The techniques used to obtain and process these data are described by Thompson [1987]. The anomalous region discussed above exhibits low returns on the 70-cm depolarized radar image.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most complete basin ring bounds Mare Humorum and is -440 km in diameter [Wilhelms, 1987]. A rimiike scarp almost twice as large (-820 km) and resembling the Cordillera ring of the Orientale basin lies outside this mate-bounding (MB) ring.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Remote sensing studies of the terrain northwest of Humorum Basin

Hawke

Peterson

Lucey

et al. 1993

Geophysical Research Letters

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Abstract. We have used near-inftarcd reflectance spectra and Earth-based radar data to investigate the composition and origin of the various geologic units northwest of Humorum basin as well as the stratigraphy of the Humorum pre-Ímpact target site. The results of our spectral analysis indicate that at least a portion of the inner, m are-bounding ring is composed of pure anorthosite. Other highlands units in the region are dominated by noritic anorthosite.

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“…The radar signatures of impact craters are subdued and mostly limited to faint rim enhancements and quasi-circular dark patches where fresh impacts have been made into bright volcanic plains. This is in marked contrast with radar images of the Moon, Mercury, and Venus, which show prominent bright features associated with crater floors, ejecta haloes, and even extended rays (Zisk et al, 1974;Campbell and Burns, 1980;Thompson, 1987;. Bright-halo craters on the Moon and Mercury show bright ejecta rings that extend about one crater radius beyond the crater rim Ghent et al, 2010) and that are attributed to enhanced diffuse backscatter from relatively fresh, rocky ejecta deposits.…”

Section: Dark-halo Cratersmentioning

confidence: 68%