Evidence for structural control of mare volcanism in lunar compressional tectonic settings

Abstract

One of the long-standing enigmas for lunar tectonic-thermal evolution is the spatiotemporal association of contractional wrinkle ridges and basaltic volcanism in a compressional regime. Here, we show that most of the 30 investigated volcanic (eruptive) centers are linked to contractional wrinkle ridges developed above preexisting basin basement-involved ring/rim normal faults. Based on the tectonic patterns associated with the basin formation and mass loading and considering that during the subsequent compression the stress was not purely isotropic, we hypothesize that tectonic inversion produced not only thrust faults but also reactivated structures with strike-slip and even extensional components, thus providing a valid mechanism for magma transport through fault planes during ridge faulting and folding of basaltic layers. Our findings suggest that lunar syn-tectonic mare emplacement along reactivated inherited faults provides important records of basin-scale structure-involved volcanism, which is more complex than previously considered.

Abstract

On the Moon, evidence has been found for the preexisting fault reactivation origin (tectonic inversion) of contractional wrinkle ridges in mare basins and the consequent structural control of volcanic eruptions in compressional tectonic settings.