Mapping Lunar Wrinkle Ridges for Trend Analysis
Presenter Hometown
Winchester
Major
Geology
Department
Geosciences
Degree
Undergraduate
Mentor
Christopher G. Hughes
Mentor Department
Geosciences
Recommended Citation
Cooper, Liam P. and Hughes, Christopher G., "Mapping Lunar Wrinkle Ridges for Trend Analysis" (2019). University Presentation Showcase Event. 35.
https://encompass.eku.edu/swps/2019/undergraduate/35
Abstract
The lunar surface is divided into two main region types: the lighter colored highlands and the darker maria. The relatively flat maria were created as topographic low areas on the lunar surface and were filled in with basaltic lava flows. This process formed a relatively smooth surface that is now pocked with craters, as well as vein-like ridges known as wrinkle ridges. These ridges are geologic structures that formed as lunar maria’s basalts cooled and contracted, producing shallow angle reverse faults, commonly known as thrust faults, that lift and fold blocks of basalt to create long, sinuous topographic highs. They also commonly occur with grabens, long valleys formed when two normal faults running parallel to each other occur in opposite directions and the inner fault block drops relative to the outer fault blocks. Wrinkle ridges often outline structures, such as craters, buried below basaltic lava flows and can be used to identify some of these structures. Since wrinkle ridges form perpendicular to the direction of lunar mare contraction, they frequently follow a circular pattern outlining the maria. This is useful for the identification of these wrinkle ridges. This research is focused on locating, identifying, and mapping wrinkle ridges that occur on the moon utilizing topographic data and images collected by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter’s Narrow Angle Camera from one site in Mare Serenitatis and three sites in Mare Fecunditatis. The identified wrinkle ridges have been mapped, and the trends catalogued for later analysis and research.
Presentation format
Poster
Mapping Lunar Wrinkle Ridges for Trend Analysis
The lunar surface is divided into two main region types: the lighter colored highlands and the darker maria. The relatively flat maria were created as topographic low areas on the lunar surface and were filled in with basaltic lava flows. This process formed a relatively smooth surface that is now pocked with craters, as well as vein-like ridges known as wrinkle ridges. These ridges are geologic structures that formed as lunar maria’s basalts cooled and contracted, producing shallow angle reverse faults, commonly known as thrust faults, that lift and fold blocks of basalt to create long, sinuous topographic highs. They also commonly occur with grabens, long valleys formed when two normal faults running parallel to each other occur in opposite directions and the inner fault block drops relative to the outer fault blocks. Wrinkle ridges often outline structures, such as craters, buried below basaltic lava flows and can be used to identify some of these structures. Since wrinkle ridges form perpendicular to the direction of lunar mare contraction, they frequently follow a circular pattern outlining the maria. This is useful for the identification of these wrinkle ridges. This research is focused on locating, identifying, and mapping wrinkle ridges that occur on the moon utilizing topographic data and images collected by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter’s Narrow Angle Camera from one site in Mare Serenitatis and three sites in Mare Fecunditatis. The identified wrinkle ridges have been mapped, and the trends catalogued for later analysis and research.
