Lunar Fe and Ti Abundances: Comparison of Lunar Prospector and Clementine Data

• Published in: Science
• Main Authors: Elphic, R. C., Lawrence, D. J., Feldman, W. C., Barraclough, B. L., Maurice, S., Binder, A. B., Lucey, P. G.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 1998
• Subjects: Aitken; South Pole; The Ramparts; South pole
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.281.5382.1493; https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.281.5382.1493

The Lunar Prospector neutron spectrometer data correlate well with iron and titanium abundances obtained through analysis of Clementine spectral reflectance data. With the iron and titanium dependence removed, the neutron spectrometer data also reveal regions with enhanced amounts of gadolinium and samarium, incompatible rare earth elements that are enriched in the final phases of magma crystallization. These regions are found mainly around the ramparts of the Imbrium impact basin but not around the other basins, including the much larger and deeper South Pole–Aitken basin. This result confirms the compositional uniqueness of the surface and interior of the Imbrium region.