1Lingzhi Sun, 1,2Zongcheng Ling, 1Jiang Zhang, 1Bo Li, 1Jian Chen, 1Zhongchen Wu, 3Jianzhong Liu
Icarus (in Press) Link to Article [doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2016.07.010]
1School of Space Science and Physics, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy & Solar-Terrestrial Environment, Shandong University, Weihai 264209, China
2Key Laboratory of Lunar and Deep Space Exploration, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100012, China
3Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang, 550002, China
Copyright Elsevier
Iron and optical maturity (OMAT) are two key geological marks of the Moon that closely related to its geochemical evolution and interactions between surface and space environment. We apply Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression to Chang’E-1 Imaging Interferometer (IIM) (32 bands between 480 and 960 nm) in mapping lunar global FeO and OMAT, and the FeO and OMAT values are derived based on reasonable spectral parameters (absorbance, band ratios, TiO2 and maturity sensitive parameters, etc.). After been calibrated by the FeO map from Lunar Prospector Gamma-Ray Spectrometer (LP-GRS), the global FeO map derived from PLS modeling shows a quantitatively more reasonable result consistent with previous remote sensing results (LP) as well as lunar feldspathic meteorite studies and Chang’E-3 landing site. Based on the new FeO map by Chang’E-1, we discover a compositional inhomogeneity across lunar highland regions, which has not been suggested by previous datasets (e.g., Clementine UVVIS). Furthermore, we suggest that at least part of the FeO enrichments in highlands would be caused by mixing of highland and mare materials. The IIM derived OMAT map does not suggest a dichotomy of the lunar highlands and mare regions, implying the compositional differences between those two terrains have been suppressed. We further check the maturity effect for the young mare basalts (20 wt.%) and ultrahigh-TiO2 (>10 wt.%) tend to have greater OMAT values and vary little with ages; (3) this may be due to the distinct optical maturity effects of ultramafic minerals (i.e., ultrahigh Fe and Ti) and/or the spectral blue shifts of abundant ilmenite.