A long-lived magma ocean on a young Moon.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 32695879.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.aba8949 and PMC identifier 7351470.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
A giant impact onto Earth led to the formation of the Moon, resulted in a lunar magma ocean (LMO), and initiated the last event of core segregation on Earth. However, the timing and temporal link of these events remain uncertain. Here, we demonstrate that the low thermal conductivity of the lunar crust combined with heat extraction by partial melting of deep cumulates undergoing convection results in an LMO solidification time scale of 150 to 200 million years. Combining this result with a crystallization model of the LMO and with the ages and isotopic compositions of lunar samples indicates that the Moon formed 4.425 ± 0.025 billion years ago. This age is in remarkable agreement with the U-Pb age of Earth, demonstrating that the U-Pb age dates the final segregation of Earth's core.