Electromagnetic evidence concerning the lunar interior and its evolution

Abstract

Reviews of the evidence for magnetization of the moon found from discovery of remanence in lunar samples, direct measurements of fields on the surface of the moon, and direct and indirect determination of fields from lunar orbit. It is shown that the evidence implies that the fields are not only local but that regional properties are found though there is still no direct evidence for a global dipole moment. Limits on the detectibility of a global dipole are given and it is shown that the strength of magnetization for reasonable thermal gradients places possible dipole moments just below the threshold of detectibility of current experiments. The hypothesis of plate magnetics is reviewed. Current ideas regarding the source of the background magnetic field presumed responsible for the magnetization are critically considered. These are the dynamo hypothesis and primordial magnetization. Consequences of both are discussed and finally the constraints placed upon the thermal evolution of the moon are considered.