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LunarswirlsWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Lunarswirls
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

LunarswirlsareenigmaticfeaturesfoundacrosstheMoons
surface,whicharecharacterizedbyhavingahighalbedo,appearing
opticallyimmature(i.e.havingtheopticalcharacteristicsofa
relativelyyoungregolith),and(often)havingasinuousshape.Their
curvilinearshapeisoftenaccentuatedbylowalbedoregionsthat
windbetweenthebrightswirls.Theyappeartooverlaythelunar
surface,superposedontopofcratersandejectadeposits,butimpart
noobservabletopography.Swirlshavebeenidentifiedonthelunar
mariaandhighlandstheyarenotassociatedwithaspecific
lithologiccomposition.Swirlsonthemariaarecharacterizedby
strongalbedocontrastsandcomplex,sinuousmorphology,whereas
thoseonhighlandterrainappearlessprominentandexhibitsimpler
shapes,suchassingleloopsordiffusebrightspots.

Contents
1Associationwithmagneticanomalies
2Formationmodels
3References
4Externallinks

LunarReconnaissanceOrbiterWide
AngleCameraimageofReiner
Gamma

Associationwithmagneticanomalies
Thelunarswirlsarecoincidentwithregionsofrelativelyhigh
magneticfieldstrengthonaplanetarybodythatdoesnot,andmay
neverhavehad,anactivecoredynamowithwhichtogenerateits
AnotherviewofReinerGamma
ownmagneticfield.Everyswirlhasanassociatedmagnetic
swirls
anomaly,butnoteverymagneticanomalyhasanidentifiableswirl.
OrbitalmagneticfieldmappingbytheApollo15and16sub
satellites,LunarProspector,andKaguyashowregionswithalocalmagneticfield.BecausetheMoonhas
nocurrentlyactiveglobalmagneticfield,theseregionalanomaliesareregionsofremanentmagnetism
theiroriginremainscontroversial.

Formationmodels
Therearethreeleadingmodelsforswirlformation.Therearetwocharacteristicsoflunarswirlsthatany
modeloftheirformationmusttakeintoaccount:
1. thelunarswirlsareopticallyimmature,and
2. thelunarswirlsareassociatedwithmagneticanomalies.
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Modelsforcreationofthemagneticanomaliesrelevanttoswirl
formation,althoughindependentoftheswirls'optical
characteristics,pointtotheobservationthatseveralofthemagnetic
anomaliesareantipodaltotheyounger,largeimpactbasins.[1]
Magnetizationoftheseantipodalregionscouldoccurinthepresence
ofanamplifiedmagneticeld,suchaswouldresultfromaplasma
cloudgeneratedbythebasinformingimpactinteractingwithaweak
magneticeldpresentattheMoonatthetimeofbasinformation.[2]
Anunusuallythickand/orstronglymagnetizeddepositofbasin
ejectahasbeeninvokedtoexplainswirlsthatarenotantipodaltoa
basin,suchastheReinerGammaFormation.[3]Analternative
modeltoaplasmainducedmagneticanomaly,butwhichalsodraws
uponthebasinantipodecorrelationisbyimpactinducedcurrents
andseismicwavesringingtheplanet.[4]

MareIngenii

Oncethemagneticanomalyhasbeeninstalled,theswirlsareformed
becausetheyareprotectedfromthesolarwind.Thesolarwind
shieldingmodel[5]proposesthattheswirlsrepresentexposed
silicatematerialswhosealbedoshavebeenselectivelypreserved
overtimefromtheeffectsofspaceweatheringviadeflectionof
solarwindionbombardment.Accordingtothismodel,optical
maturationofexposedsilicatesurfacesintheinnersolarsystemisat
leastpartlyafunctionofthesolarwindionbombardment.This
modelsuggeststhatswirlformationisacontinuingprocess,which
beganafterplacementofthemagneticanomaly.
AnotherviewofIngenii

Thecometaryimpactmodel[6]arguesthatthehighalbedoofthe
swirlsistheresultofscouringofthetopmostsurfaceregolithby
thecomasturbulentflowofgasanddust,whichexposedfreshmaterialandredepositedthefine,scoured
materialindiscretedeposits.[7]Accordingtothismodel,theassociatedstrongmagneticanomaliesarethe
resultofmagnetizationofnearsurfacematerialsheatedabovetheCurietemperaturethroughhyper
velocitygascollisionsandmicroimpactsasthecomaimpactsthesurface.Proponentsofthecometary
impactmodelconsidertheoccurrenceofmanyswirlsantipodaltorelativelyyoung,majorbasinstobe
coincidentalortheresultofincompletemappingofswirllocations.
Thedusttransportmodel[8]proposesthatweakelectricfieldscreatedbyinteractionbetweenthecrustal
magneticanomaliesandthesolarwindplasmacouldattractorrepelelectricallychargedfinedust.High
albedo,feldspathicmaterialisthedominantcomponentofthefinestparticlesoflunarsoil.Electrostatic
movementofdustloftedabovethesurfaceduringterminatorcrossingscouldcausethismaterialto
preferentiallyaccumulateandformthebright,loopingswirlpatterns.

References
1. L.L.Hood,P.J.Coleman,&D.E.Wilhelms(1979)."TheMoon:Sourcesofthecrustalmagneticanomalies".
Science204:5357.Bibcode:1979Sci...204...53H.doi:10.1126/science.204.4388.53.
2. L.L.Hood&D.E.Williams(1989)."ThelunarswirlsDistributionandpossibleorigins".Proceedingsofthe
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3.

4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

LunarswirlsWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

LunarandPlanetaryScienceConference19:99113.
L.L.Hood&A.Zakharian,J.Halekas,D.L.Mitchell,R.P.Lin,M.H.Acua,&A.B.Binder(2001)."Initial
mappingandinterpretationoflunarcrustalmagneticanomaliesusingLunarProspectormagnetometerdata".
JournalofGeophysicalResearch106:2782527840.Bibcode:2001JGR...10627825H.
doi:10.1029/2000JE001366.
G.Kletetschka,F.Freund,P.J.Wasilewski,V.Mikula,&T.Kohout(2005)."AntipodalMagneticAnomalies
ontheMoon,ContributionsfromImpactInducedCurrentsDuetoPositiveHolesandFlexoelectricPhenomina
andDynamo".LunarandPlanetaryScienceConference36:1854.
L.L.Hood&G.Schubert(1980)."TheMoon:Lunarmagneticanomaliesandsurfaceopticalproperties".
Science208:4951.Bibcode:1980Sci...208...49H.doi:10.1126/science.208.4439.49.
P.H.Schultz&L.J.Srnka(1980)."CometarycollisionsontheMoonandMercury".Nature284:2226.
Bibcode:1980Natur.284...22S.doi:10.1038/284022a0.
P.C.Pinet,V.V.Shevchenko,S.D.Chevrel,Y.Daydou,&C.Rosemberg,(2000)."Localandregionallunar
regolithcharacteristicsatReinerGammaFormation:OpticalandspectroscopicpropertiesfromClementineand
Earthbaseddata"105.pp.94579476.Bibcode:2000JGR...105.9457P.doi:10.1029/1999JE001086.
GarrickBethell,Ianetal.(2011)."Spectralproperties,magneticfields,anddusttransportatlunarswirls".
Icarus212(2).Bibcode:2011Icar..212..480G.doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2010.11.036.

Externallinks
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