Surges in volcanic activity on the Moon about two billion years ago

Heng-Ci Tian (), Chi Zhang (), Wei Yang, Jun Du, Yi Chen, Zhiyong Xiao, Ross N. Mitchell, Hejiu Hui, Hitesh G. Changela, Tian-Xin Zhang, Xu Tang, Di Zhang, Yangting Lin, Xianhua Li and Fuyuan Wu
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Heng-Ci Tian: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Chi Zhang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Wei Yang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jun Du: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yi Chen: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zhiyong Xiao: Sun Yat-sen University
Ross N. Mitchell: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Hejiu Hui: Nanjing University
Hitesh G. Changela: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Tian-Xin Zhang: Deep Space Exploration Laboratory
Xu Tang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Di Zhang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yangting Lin: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xianhua Li: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Fuyuan Wu: Chinese Academy of Sciences

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract The history of mare volcanism critically informs the thermal evolution of the Moon. However, young volcanic eruptions are poorly constrained by remote observations and limited samples, hindering an understanding of mare eruption flux over time. The Chang’e-5 mission returned the youngest lunar basalts thus far, offering a window into the Moon’s late-stage evolution. Here, we investigate the mineralogy and geochemistry of 42 olivine and pyroxene crystals from the Chang’e-5 basalts. We find that almost all of them are normally zoned, suggesting limited magma recharge or shallow-level assimilation. Most olivine grains record a short timescale of cooling. Thermal modeling used to estimate the thickness and volume of the volcanism sampled by Chang’e-5 reveals enhanced magmatic flux ~2 billion years ago, suggesting that while overall lunar volcanic activity may decrease over time, episodic eruptions at the final stage could exhibit above average eruptive fluxes, thus revising models of lunar thermal evolution.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39418-0

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