Dataset Information

Evidence for surface water ice in the lunar polar regions using reflectance measurements from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter and temperature measurements from the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment.

ABSTRACT: We find that the reflectance of the lunar surface within 5 ° of latitude of the South Pole increases rapidly with decreasing temperature, near ~110K, behavior consistent with the presence of surface water iceThe North polar region does not show this behavior, nor do South polar surfaces at latitudes more than 5° from the pole. This South pole reflectance anomaly persists when analysis is limited to surfaces with slopes less than 10° to eliminate false detection due to the brightening effect of mass wasting, and also when the very bright south polar crater Shackleton is excluded from the analysis. We also find that south polar regions of permanent shadow that have been reported to be generally brighter at 1064 nm do not show anomalous reflectance when their annual maximum surface temperatures are too high to preserve water ice. This distinction is not observed at the North Pole. The reflectance excursion on surfaces with maximum temperatures below 110K is superimposed on a general trend of increasing reflectance with decreasing maximum temperature that is present throughout the polar regions in the north and south; we attribute this trend to a temperature or illumination-dependent space weathering effect (e.g. Hemingway et al. 2015). We also find a sudden increase in reflectance with decreasing temperature superimposed on the general trend at 200K and possibly at 300K. This may indicate the presence of other volatiles such as sulfur or organics. We identified and mapped surfaces with reflectances so high as to be unlikely to be part of an ice-free population. In this south we find a similar distribution found by Hayne et al. 2015 based on UV properties. In the north a cluster of pixels near that pole may represent a limited frost exposure.

SUBMITTER: Fisher EA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7197374 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Evidence for surface water ice in the lunar polar regions using reflectance measurements from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter and temperature measurements from the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment.

Fisher Elizabeth A EA Lucey Paul G PG Lemelin Myriam M Greenhagen Benjamin T BT Siegler Matthew A MA Mazarico Erwan E Aharonson Oded O Williams Jean-Pierre JP Hayne Paul O PO Neumann Gregory A GA Paige David A DA Smith David E DE Zuber Maria T MT

Icarus 20170401

We find that the reflectance of the lunar surface within 5 ° of latitude of the South Pole increases rapidly with decreasing temperature, near ~110K, behavior consistent with the presence of surface water iceThe North polar region does not show this behavior, nor do South polar surfaces at latitudes more than 5° from the pole. This South pole reflectance anomaly persists when analysis is limited to surfaces with slopes less than 10° to eliminate false detection due to the brightening effect of m ...[more]

PMID: 32367891

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Dataset Information

Evidence for surface water ice in the lunar polar regions using reflectance measurements from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter and temperature measurements from the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment.

Publications

Evidence for surface water ice in the lunar polar regions using reflectance measurements from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter and temperature measurements from the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment.

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