Widespread hematite at high latitudes of the Moon
Widespread hematite at high latitudes of the Moon
复制标题
月球高纬度地区广泛分布的赤铁矿
DOI：
10.1126/sciadv.aba1940
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发表时间：
2020
期刊：
影响因子：
13.6
通讯作者：
P. Schultz
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Shuai Li;P. Lucey;A. Fraeman;A. Poppe;V. Sun;D. Hurley;P. Schultz
月球轨道数据分析揭示了赤铁矿的意外存在，这是一种在高度还原条件下的氧化产物。赤铁矿（Fe2O3）是地球、火星和一些小行星上常见的氧化产物。虽然氧化过程被推测在月球表面进行并形成含铁矿物，但在月球高度还原条件下形成的铁矿物的明确检测仍然是难以捉摸的。我们对月球矿物学绘图仪数据的分析表明，赤铁矿是一种铁矿物，存在于月球的高纬度地区，主要与地形高点的东面和赤道面有关，并且在近侧比远侧更普遍。来自地球高层大气的氧气可能是形成月球赤铁矿的主要氧化剂。在过去的数十亿年里，不同年龄的陨石坑中的赤铁矿可能保存了地球大气中的氧同位素。未来的氧同位素测量可以验证我们的假设，并可能有助于揭示地球大气的演变。
Moon orbital data analysis reveals the unexpected presence of Hematite, an oxidization product under highly reducing conditions. Hematite (Fe2O3) is a common oxidization product on Earth, Mars, and some asteroids. Although oxidizing processes have been speculated to operate on the lunar surface and form ferric iron–bearing minerals, unambiguous detections of ferric minerals forming under highly reducing conditions on the Moon have remained elusive. Our analyses of the Moon Mineralogy Mapper data show that hematite, a ferric mineral, is present at high latitudes on the Moon, mostly associated with east- and equator-facing sides of topographic highs, and is more prevalent on the nearside than the farside. Oxygen delivered from Earth’s upper atmosphere could be the major oxidant that forms lunar hematite. Hematite at craters of different ages may have preserved the oxygen isotopes of Earth’s atmosphere in the past billions of years. Future oxygen isotope measurements can test our hypothesis and may help reveal the evolution of Earth’s atmosphere.