Lunar western limb pyroclastic deposits

Abstract

It has become increasingly evident that the lunar pyroclastic volcanism played an important role in the formation and resurfacing of many areas of the Moon. On-going analysis of lunar Orbiter and Apollo photographs continues to locate and identify pyroclastic deposits and suggests that they just may be more ubiquitous than once thought. Located near mare/highland boundaries, many of these deposits formed contemporaneously with effusive mare volcanism. The mantling deposits formed as products of fire-fountaining. Probable source vents for these deposits include irregular depressions at the head of associated sinuous rilles and/or along irregular fractures in the floors of ancient craters. Here, researchers provide a brief synopsis of the nature of the dark mantling deposits and briefly discuss several newly identified deposits on the western limb.