Newly-discovered ring-moat dome structures in the lunar maria:possible origins and implications
- Zhang, Feng
- Head, James
- Basilevsky, Alexander
- Bugiolacchi, Roberto
- Komatsu, Goro
- Wilson, Lionel
- Fa, Wenze
- Zhu, Meng-Hua
DOIAbstract
We report on a newly discovered morphological feature on the lunar surface, here named Ring-Moat Dome Structure (RMDS). These low domes (a few meters to ~20 m height with slopes <5°) are typically surrounded by narrow annular depressions or moats. We mapped about 2,600 RMDSs in the lunar maria with diameters ranging from tens to hundreds of meters. Four candidate hypotheses for their origin involving volcanism are considered. We currently favor a mechanism for the formation of the RMDS related to modification of the initial lava flows through inflated flow squeeze-ups and/or extrusion of magmatic foams below a cooling lava flow surface. These newly discovered features provide new insights into the nature of emplacement of lunar lava flows, ...
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