Lunar Oceanus Procellarum Created by Supervolcano, not Impact

Oceanus Procellarum, a vast dark patch visible on the western edge of the Moon's near side, has long been a source of mystery for planetary scientists. Some have suggested that the "ocean of storms" is part of a giant basin formed by an asteroid impact early in the Moon's history. But new research published today in Nature deals a pretty big blow to the impact theory.

The new study, based on data from NASA's GRAIL mission, found a series of linear gravitational anomalies forming a giant rectangle, nearly 1,600 miles across, running beneath the Procellarum region. Those anomalies appear to be the remnants of ancient rifts in the Moon's crust, say the authors of the new study. The rifts provided a vast "magma plumbing system" that flooded the region with volcanic lava between 3 and 4 billion years ago. That giant flux of lava solidified to form the dark basalts we see from Earth.

It's the shape of the underlying gravity anomalies that cast doubt on impact hypothesis, said Jim Head, the Louis and Elizabeth Scherck Distinguished Professor of Geological Sciences at Brown and one of the authors of the new paper.

"Instead of a central circular gravity anomaly like all other impact basins, at Procellarum we see these linear features forming this huge rectangle," Head said. "This shape argues strongly for an internal origin and suggests internal forces."

The research team, led by Jeffrey Andrews-Hanna of the Colorado School of Mines, suggests a new hypothesis for just what those internal forces may have been. The process, the researchers believe, was driven by the geochemical composition of the Moon's crust in the Procellarum region.

Early in its history, the Moon is believed to have been entirely covered in molten magma, which slowly cooled to form the crust. However, the Procellarum region is known to have a high concentration of uranium, thorium, and potassium — radioactive elements that produce heat. The researchers believe those elements may have caused Procellarum to cool and solidify after the rest of the crust had already cooled. When Procellarum did finally cool, it shrank and pulled away from the surrounding crust, forming the giant rifts seen in the new data. Magma flowed into those rifts and flooded the region.

"We think this is a really good, testable alternative to the impact basin theory," said Head. "Everything we see suggests that internal forces were critical in the formation of Procellarum."

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