A new lunar crustal thickness model constrained by converted seismic waves detected beneath the Apollo seismic network
OA Location
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Analysis of conversions between compressional and shear waves is a workhorse method for constraining crustal and lithospheric structure on Earth; yet, such converted waves have not been unequivocally identified in seismic data from the largest events on the Moon, due to the highly scattered waveforms of shallow seismic events. We reanalyze the polarization attributes of waveforms recorded by the Apollo seismic network to identify signals with rectilinear particle motion below 1 Hz, arising from conversions across the crust-mantle boundary. Delay times of these converted waves are inverted to estimate crustal thickness and wavespeeds beneath the seismometers. Combined with gravimetric modeling, these new crustal thickness tie-points yield an updated lunar crustal model with an average thickness of 29–47 km. Unlike previous models, ours include explicit uncertainty estimates, offering critical context for future lunar missions, geophysical studies, and predicting 15–36 km crust at Schrödinger and 29–52 km at Artemis III sites.
Date Issued
2025-07-16
Date Acceptance
2025-06-17
Citation
Geophysical Research Letters, 2025, 52 (13)
ISSN
0094-8276
Publisher
Wiley
Journal / Book Title
Geophysical Research Letters
Volume
52
Issue
13
Copyright Statement
© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Subjects
apollo
crustal thickness
DEPENDENT POLARIZATION ANALYSIS
Geology
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
gravity
lunar interior
MANTLE
MOHO
moon
MOON
Physical Sciences
REFLECTIVITY METHOD
Science & Technology
seismology
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
e2024GL114506
Date Publish Online
2025-07-03