Constraints on the Spatial Distribution of Lunar Crustal Magnetic Sources From Orbital Magnetic Field Data

Abstract

Spacecraft measurements show that the crust of the Moon is heterogeneously magnetized. The sources of these magnetic anomalies are yet not fully understood, with most not being related to known geological structures or processes. Here, we use an inversion methodology that relies on the assumption of unidirectional magnetization, commonly referred to as Parker's method, to elucidate the origin of the magnetic sources by constraining the location and geometry of the underlying magnetization. This method has been used previously to infer the direction of the underlying magnetization but it has not been tested as to whether it can infer the geometry of the source. The performance of the method is here assessed by conducting a variety of tests, using synthetic magnetized bodies of different geometries mimicking the main geological structures potentially magnetized within the lunar crust. Results from our tests show that this method successfully localizes and delineates the two-dimensional surface projection of subsurface three-dimensional magnetized bodies, provided their magnetization is close to unidirectional and the magnetic field data are of sufficient spatial resolution and reasonable signal-to-noise ratio. We applied this inversion method to two different lunar magnetic anomalies, the Mendel-Rydberg impact basin and the Reiner Gamma swirl. For Mendel-Rydberg, our analysis shows that the strongest magnetic sources are located within the basin's inner ring, whereas for Reiner Gamma, the strongest magnetic sources form a narrow dike-like body that emanates from the center of the Marius Hills volcanic complex.