Magnetic signatures of lunar impact craters

Abstract

The Moon almost certainly had an internally generated magnetic field in its past, but the duration of the dynamo, its temporal stability, and the surface field intensity are poorly known. Impact cratering events heat portions of the crust above the Curie temperature, allowing the ambient magnetic field strength to be recorded as the crater cools. We systematically analyzed the magnetic signatures of lunar impact craters with diameters greater than 90 km using recent magnetic field models and crater databases. Craters were classified as having evidence for impact-related central magnetization or demagnetization, and synthetic magnetic field models were used to estimate the number of incorrect identifications. In total, about 15% of craters were found to have impact-related magnetized or demagnetized signatures. The proportion of pre-Nectarian and Nectarian aged craters in the magnetized class is about 2%–3%, and there is little evidence for magnetized craters in the Imbrian and younger periods. The percentage of craters in the demagnetized class is about 0.3%–3% in the pre-Nectarian and Nectarian periods and abruptly increases to 16% in the Imbrian period. Our observations are consistent with the presence of strong dynamo fields during portions of the older pre-Nectarian and Nectarian periods, with a weakening (or cessation) of the dynamo at the beginning of the younger Imbrian period. These results differ from paleomagnetic analyses of lunar samples that imply the existence of strong dynamo field strengths from the pre-Nectarian up until at least the first half of the Imbrian period.