Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Absence of large shield volcanoes and calderas on the Moon
T2 - Consequence of magma transport phenomena?
AU - Head, James W.
AU - Wilson, Lionel
PY - 1991/11/18
Y1 - 1991/11/18
N2 - Large shield volcanoes and calderas are not observed on the Moon. Theoretical assessments show that melt ascending from the mantle will stall at rheological traps or at the shallower density trap at the base of the low‐density lunar crust. Magma will then only reach the surface along dikes propagated from these deep reservoirs, and such events will be infrequent and characterized by very large‐volume eruptions. These conditions favor the formation of sinuous rules, single long flows, and widespread flow units, rather than abundant small eruptions from a central edifice. The absence of large shield volcanoes and calderas on the Moon is interpreted to be related to the fact that shallow neutral buoyancy zones and magma reservoirs are not favored on the Moon.
AB - Large shield volcanoes and calderas are not observed on the Moon. Theoretical assessments show that melt ascending from the mantle will stall at rheological traps or at the shallower density trap at the base of the low‐density lunar crust. Magma will then only reach the surface along dikes propagated from these deep reservoirs, and such events will be infrequent and characterized by very large‐volume eruptions. These conditions favor the formation of sinuous rules, single long flows, and widespread flow units, rather than abundant small eruptions from a central edifice. The absence of large shield volcanoes and calderas on the Moon is interpreted to be related to the fact that shallow neutral buoyancy zones and magma reservoirs are not favored on the Moon.
U2 - 10.1029/91GL02536
DO - 10.1029/91GL02536
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:0026312241
VL - 18
SP - 2121
EP - 2124
JO - Geophysical Research Letters
JF - Geophysical Research Letters
SN - 0094-8276
IS - 11
ER -