Identification and Geomorphometric Characterization of Volcanic Cones in the Marius Hills, the Moon

Abstract

AbstractInvestigation of the detailed geological characteristics of lunar volcanic cones can peer into their formation and emplacement processes, thus deepening our understanding of pyroclastic eruptions on the Moon. In this work, we focus on the Marius Hills region (centered at 13°N, 55°W), a volcanic plateau in south Oceanus Procellarum, which hosts the most abundant volcanic cones on the Moon, along with other volcanic features. The range of volcanic features indicates various eruption styles and complicated sequences of regional magmatic activities. Based on the SLDEM2015 topography data, with assistance from other multisource topography and image data sets, we identified 360 known and suspected volcanic cones and 22 volcanic domes in the Marius Hills. Following detailed morphological characterizations, the volcanic cones show various morphology types, including C‐shaped, elliptical‐shaped, elongated‐shaped, irregular‐shaped, and rounded‐shaped. The cones (median basal width ∼2.7 km, height ∼115 m, and volume 0.25 km3) contain summit pit craters (15%; median width ∼358 m), exhibiting smaller basal widths and summit pit crater widths compared with lunar mare domes. The mean slope (3.5°–15.6°) and rock abundance (0.3%–3.8%) of volcanic cones in Marius Hills are larger than those of the mare dome, suggesting different eruption mechanisms. Marius Hills cones also show larger basal widths and smaller height/width ratios than terrestrial volcanic cones, which are attributed to multiple factors, including subaerial environment, volatile content of the magma, eruption rate, and lava viscosity.