Abstract
The study of mare basalts in microwave range will be of great significance to better understand the basaltic units with complex surface contaminations, particularly in Mare Nubium. In this article, the China Chang'E-2 Lunar Microwave Sounder data and the generated normalized brightness temperature (nTB) and brightness temperature difference (dTB) maps are employed to evaluate the basaltic units in Mare Nubium. The results are as follows. First, two regions with hot anomaly are found, which is likely brought by the high substrate temperature. The anomaly in central Nubium is extensive in range and high in intensity. Second, the nTB and dTB performances can pursue the mare deposits contaminated by the impact ejecta, which reveals special mare basalt with the thin layer in the southeastern part of Mare Nubium. Third, the nTB and dTB maps indicate the complexity of the mare deposits in Mare Nubium. Fourth, the cold dTB anomaly in the western part is proposed as the floor deposits produced during the formation of the Nubium basin. These unusual findings will be of fundamental significance to better understand the basaltic volcanism and the thermal evolution of the Moon.
Highlights
M ARE Nubium, centered at 20.59°S and 17.29°W, has a diameter of 714.5 km USGS1, and is one of the most ancient circular impact basins on the Moon [see Fig. 1(a)]
At 3.0 GHz, the normalized TB (nTB) is highest in the central Nubium, and the ranges include the northern part of unit IIIh and the nearby units Ib and IIe in the west and units IId and Ic in the east
At 37 GHz map do the dTB performances show a positive correlation with the basaltic units identified by Bugiolacchi et al [11], but the highest nTB occurs in units IIf and Ia in the southeastern part of Mare Nubium
Summary
M ARE Nubium, centered at 20.59°S and 17.29°W, has a diameter of 714.5 km USGS1, and is one of the most ancient circular impact basins on the Moon [see Fig. 1(a)]. Visible and infrared data were widely used to evaluate the basaltic volcanism in Mare Nubium. Such remote sensing data reveals subtle color differences of the basaltic units within the Mare [3]–[5], as well as compositional differences [6]–[9]. The microwave data are sensitive to the substrate temperature and compositions of the lunar regolith and are less influenced by the surface topography [17]–[19] These characteristics provide a new way to evaluate the basaltic units and volcanism in Mare Nubium. The CELMS data from CE-2 satellite are used to evaluate the basaltic units in Mare Nubium.
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