Late stage Imbrium volcanism on the Moon: Evidence for two source regions and implications for the thermal history of Mare Imbrium

Abstract

Abstract Large open fissures or volcanic rifts can form in volcanic terrain and they are also conduits for magma ascending through the lunar crust. On the Moon, we investigated two volcanic source regions within Mare Imbrium by tracking surface morphologic features and compositional information. The Euler source region is situated at the southwest edge of the basin, while the Lambert source region lies off the south margin of the Imbrium mascon. Survey of dike surface manifestations in Euler source site suggest that dikes are the possible source of the local upper basaltic flows and the last lava phases with well developed scarps near the Euler crater, which extend northeast to the basin center. The Euler dike swarm are radial to the basin and reveal possible dike-to-conduit transition mechanism. They reveal radial subsurface fractures which may be tensional cracks preceding to the emplacement of the last stage of the mare fill. Of these, the largest dike has a more than 100 km length. The spatial arrangement of tectonic and volcanic features in Lambert source site is directly or indirectly controlled by the regional compression and extension stresses associated with flexure in response to mascon and basalt loading. In addition, compositional variation trends show a general southwest-to-northeast flooding direction of the exposed high-Ti basalts. This will have important implications for both the Imbrium basin's mare volcanism and for the thermal evolution of Mare Imbrium and the Moon.