The Timeline of Early Lunar Bombardment Constrained by the Evolving Distributions of Differently Aged Melt
The timeline of the early lunar bombardment remains unclear. The bombardment rate as a function of time is commonly modeled by three types of shapes: tail-end, sawtooth, and terminal cataclysm. Differently aged melt records the occurrence time of impact events and thus is crucial for constraining th...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | The Planetary Science Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ace0bb |
| _version_ | 1827392141502971904 |
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| author | Tiantian Liu Greg Michael Kai Wünnemann |
| author_facet | Tiantian Liu Greg Michael Kai Wünnemann |
| author_sort | Tiantian Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The timeline of the early lunar bombardment remains unclear. The bombardment rate as a function of time is commonly modeled by three types of shapes: tail-end, sawtooth, and terminal cataclysm. Differently aged melt records the occurrence time of impact events and thus is crucial for constraining the timeline of the early lunar bombardment. Based on a spatially resolved numerical model, we simulate the evolving distribution of differently aged melt with a long-term impact mixing, where different shapes of impact rate function are considered. We compare the outcome of melt age distribution from different scenarios with the actual data from the lunar meteorites and the returned samples. The results suggest that, if the present data are representative of the melt age distribution on the Moon, the shape of the impact rate function is more likely comparable to the tail-end over the sawtooth and the terminal cataclysm, with the terminal cataclysm being least likely. In addition, using state-of-the-art U–Pb dating techniques, more abundant ancient basin melt is likely to be found in returned samples. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T17:25:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7d941ec7a79e47e9b65605c513b95a80 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2632-3338 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T17:25:43Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Planetary Science Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-7d941ec7a79e47e9b65605c513b95a802024-01-02T19:53:25ZengIOP PublishingThe Planetary Science Journal2632-33382023-01-014713310.3847/PSJ/ace0bbThe Timeline of Early Lunar Bombardment Constrained by the Evolving Distributions of Differently Aged MeltTiantian Liu0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1539-495XGreg Michael1Kai Wünnemann2Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science , D-10115 Berlin, Germany ; tiantian.liu@mfn.berlinFreie Universität Berlin , Malteserstr., 74-100, D-12249 Berlin, GermanyMuseum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science , D-10115 Berlin, Germany ; tiantian.liu@mfn.berlin; Freie Universität Berlin , Malteserstr., 74-100, D-12249 Berlin, GermanyThe timeline of the early lunar bombardment remains unclear. The bombardment rate as a function of time is commonly modeled by three types of shapes: tail-end, sawtooth, and terminal cataclysm. Differently aged melt records the occurrence time of impact events and thus is crucial for constraining the timeline of the early lunar bombardment. Based on a spatially resolved numerical model, we simulate the evolving distribution of differently aged melt with a long-term impact mixing, where different shapes of impact rate function are considered. We compare the outcome of melt age distribution from different scenarios with the actual data from the lunar meteorites and the returned samples. The results suggest that, if the present data are representative of the melt age distribution on the Moon, the shape of the impact rate function is more likely comparable to the tail-end over the sawtooth and the terminal cataclysm, with the terminal cataclysm being least likely. In addition, using state-of-the-art U–Pb dating techniques, more abundant ancient basin melt is likely to be found in returned samples.https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ace0bbEarth-moon systemLunar cratersImpact gardeningMonte Carlo methodsMeteorites |
| spellingShingle | Tiantian Liu Greg Michael Kai Wünnemann The Timeline of Early Lunar Bombardment Constrained by the Evolving Distributions of Differently Aged Melt The Planetary Science Journal Earth-moon system Lunar craters Impact gardening Monte Carlo methods Meteorites |
| title | The Timeline of Early Lunar Bombardment Constrained by the Evolving Distributions of Differently Aged Melt |
| title_full | The Timeline of Early Lunar Bombardment Constrained by the Evolving Distributions of Differently Aged Melt |
| title_fullStr | The Timeline of Early Lunar Bombardment Constrained by the Evolving Distributions of Differently Aged Melt |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Timeline of Early Lunar Bombardment Constrained by the Evolving Distributions of Differently Aged Melt |
| title_short | The Timeline of Early Lunar Bombardment Constrained by the Evolving Distributions of Differently Aged Melt |
| title_sort | timeline of early lunar bombardment constrained by the evolving distributions of differently aged melt |
| topic | Earth-moon system Lunar craters Impact gardening Monte Carlo methods Meteorites |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ace0bb |
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