A Compositional Assessment of the Enormous South Pole - Aitken Basin Grounded in Laboratory Spectroscopy of Pyroxene-Bearing Materials

Moriarty, Daniel P.

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Year:: 2016
Contributor:: Moriarty, Daniel P. (creator); Pieters, Carle (Director); Head, Jim (Reader); Parmentier, Edgar (Reader); Parman, Stephen (Reader); Sunshine, Jessica (Reader); Brown University. Geological Sciences (sponsor)
Genre:: theses
Subject:: Spectroscopy; Lunar Science; Spectrum analysis; Planetary science; Geology; Pyroxene; Moon
Extent:: xvii, 269 p.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7301/Z0MW2FJX

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Abstract:: The South Pole - Aitken Basin is the largest confirmed impact basin on the Moon, and one of the largest in the entire solar system. Because of its ancient age and vast size, SPA is central to several fundamental issues in lunar and planetary science. We use several modern datasets (including spectroscopy, imagery, topography, and gravity) to assess the compositional structure of the basin. We interpret these findings in the context of impact models, as well as models of lunar evolution. Our major findings from throughout the dissertation are as follows: (1) Natural pyroxene-bearing materials exhibit more complex spectral behavior than synthetic pyroxenes, (2) Mafic Mound, a ~75 km anomaly at the center of SPA, appears to be an unusual magmatic construct, (3) the central portion of SPA underwent significant resurfacing, and (4) the deepest material excavated by the SPA-forming impact is dominated by Mg-rich pyroxenes from beneath the feldspathic crust.
Notes:: Thesis (Ph.D. -- Brown University (2016)

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Rights: In Copyright
Restrictions on Use: Collection is open for research.

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Moriarty, Daniel P., "A Compositional Assessment of the Enormous South Pole - Aitken Basin Grounded in Laboratory Spectroscopy of Pyroxene-Bearing Materials" (2016). Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences Theses and Dissertations. Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library. https://doi.org/10.7301/Z0MW2FJX

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Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences Theses and Dissertations

Theses and Dissertations for the Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences department.
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