Massive Moon Impact May Have Caused a Lunar Volcano

Scientists have found a unique volcanic process taking place somewhere unexpected: the moon. A giant mound near the moon's south pole appears to be a volcanic structure unlike any other found on the lunar surface.

The formation, known as Mafic Mound, stands about 800 meters tall and 75 kilometers across. It's located in the middle of a giant impact crater known as the South Pole-Aitken Basin. The mound could actually be the result of a unique kind of volcanic activity set in motion by the colossal impact that formed the basin in the first place.

"If the scenarios that we lay out for its formation are correct, it could represent a totally new volcanic process that's never been seen before," said Daniel Moriarty, lead author of the new study, in a news release.  "This unusual structure at the very center of the basin begs the question: What is this thing, and might it be related to the basin formation process?"

In order to investigate the mound, the researchers looked at data from multiple lunar exploration missions. They used detailed mineralogical data, in particular, and topographical data.

In the end, the researchers determined Mafic Mound was created by one of two unique volcanic processes set in motion by the giant South Pole-Aitken impact. An impact of this size would have created a cauldron of melted rock as much as 50 kilometers deep. As that sheet of impact melt cooled and crystallized, it would have shrink. As it did, still-molten material in the middle of the melt sheet may have been squeezed out the top like toothpaste from a tube. Eventually, that erupted material may have formed the mound.

This process could explain the mounds strange mineralogy.

"It's the largest confirmed impact structure in the solar system and has shaped many aspects of the evolution of the moon," said Moriarty. "So a big topic in lunar science is studying this basin and the effects it had on the geology of the moon through time."

The findings are published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

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