A lunar core of Fe-Ni-S |
| |
| Authors: | Robin Brett |
| |
| Institution: | NASA Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas 77058 USA |
| |
| Abstract: | Several workers have proposed that lunar samples were magnetized by a field created by a lunar core of molten Fe. Low abundances of siderophile elements in lunar rocks are compatible with formation of a metallic lunar core. A molten Fe core requires that the bulk of the Moon was above, or close to, the melting point, a requirement which disagrees with most models of the lunar thermal regime.A core (or perhaps a layer or pockets) of molten Fe-Ni-S, at or close to the eutectic composition would act as a lunar dynamo, and be at a temperature (approx. 1000°C) consistent with some reasonable models of lunar thermal history. The existence of a Fe-Ni-S core would also partly explain the depletion in volatile elements in lunar basalts. Such a core, occupying up to 20 per cent of the Moon's radius requires a bulk S content for the moon of only 0.3 wt per cent. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ |
|
