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A long-lived magma ocean on a young Moon
M Maurice1,2, N Tosi1,2, S Schwinger1
1German Aerospace Center (DLR), Rutherfordstr. 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany.
Science Advances
|July 23, 2020
Summary
The Moon formed 4.425 billion years ago, following a giant impact on Earth. This event also initiated Earth's core segregation and created a lunar magma ocean that took 150-200 million years to solidify.
Area of Science:
- Planetary Science
- Geophysics
- Cosmochemistry
Background:
- Giant impacts are theorized to form planets and moons.
- The formation of the Moon and Earth's core segregation are linked but their timing is uncertain.
- A lunar magma ocean (LMO) existed after the Moon's formation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the precise age of the Moon's formation.
- To establish the temporal link between Moon formation and Earth's core segregation.
- To understand the solidification timescale of the lunar magma ocean.
Main Methods:
- Modeling the thermal conductivity and heat extraction of the lunar crust.
- Simulating the solidification of the lunar magma ocean.
- Analyzing the ages and isotopic compositions of lunar samples.
Main Results:
- Lunar magma ocean solidification takes 150 to 200 million years.
- The Moon formed 4.425 ± 0.025 billion years ago.
- This age aligns with Earth's U-Pb age, indicating it dates core segregation.
Conclusions:
- The Moon's formation age is precisely determined.
- Earth's core segregation occurred concurrently with Moon formation.
- The lunar magma ocean's solidification provides a key timescale for early Solar System events.
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