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Moonforming impact. During this period, the lunar magma ocean (LMO) lost most of its heat through early vigorous convection, crystallizing and forming an initial cumulate stratigraphy through, potentially, robust equilibrium crystallization followed by fractional crystallization once the LMO became sufficiently viscous. This rheological transition is estimated to have occurred at 50 % to 60 % LMO solidification, and although the petrological effects of the regime switch have been frequently investigated at the lower value, such effects at the upper limit have not been formally examined until now. Given this scenario, we present two new internally consistent, high-resolution models that simulate the solidification of a deep LMO of Earth-like bulk silicate composition at both rheological transition values, focusing on the petrological characteristics of the evolving mantle and crust. The results suggest that increasing the volume of early suspended solids from the oft-examined 50 % to 60 % may lead to non-trivial differences. The appearance of minor mantle garnet without the need to invoke a refractory-element enriched bulk silicate Moon composition, a bulk mantle relatively richer in orthopyroxene than olivine, a lower density upper mantle, and a thinner crust are shown to change systematically between the two models, favoring prolonged early crystal suspension. In addition, we show that late-stage, silica-enriched melts may not have sufficient density to permit plagioclase to continue building a floatation crust and that plagioclase likely sinks or stagnates. As the ability of a lunar magma ocean to suspend crystals is directly tied to the Moon’s early thermal state, the degree of early LMO convection – and the immediate Solar System environment that drives it – require as much consideration in LMO models as more well-investigated parameters such as bulk silicate Moon composition and initial magma ocean depth.
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This content will become publicly available on January 14, 2026
Completion of lunar magma ocean solidification at 4.43 Ga
Crystallization of the lunar magma ocean yielded a chemically unique liquid residuum named KREEP. This component is expressed as a large patch on the near side of the Moon and a possible smaller patch in the northwest portion of the Moon’s South Pole-Aitken basin on the far side. Thermal models estimate that the crystallization of the lunar magma ocean (LMO) could have spanned from 10 and 200 My, while studies of radioactive decay systems have yielded inconsistent ages for the completion of LMO crystallization covering over 160 My. Here, we show that the Moon achieved >99% crystallization at 4,429 ± 76 Ma, indicating a lunar formation age of ~4,450 Ma or possibly older. Using the176Lu–176Hf decay system (t1/2= 37 Gy), we found that the initial176Hf/177Hf ratios of lunar zircons with varied U–Pb ages are consistent with their crystallization from a KREEP-rich reservoir with a consistently low176Lu/177Hf ratio of 0.0167 that emerged ~140 My after solar system formation. The previously proposed younger model age of ~4.33 Ga for the source of mare basalts (240 My after solar system formation) might reflect the timing of a large impact. Our results demonstrate that lunar magma ocean crystallization took place while the Moon was still battered by planetary embryos and planetesimals leftover from the main stage of planetary accretion. The study of Lu–Hf model ages for samples brought back from the South Pole-Aitken basin will help to assess the lateral continuity of KREEP and further understand its significance in the early history of the Moon.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1735512
- PAR ID:
- 10631666
- Publisher / Repository:
- PNAS
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Volume:
- 122
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 0027-8424
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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