Menu
  • NAM2017
    • Timetable
    • Delegates
    • Registration
  • Science
    • Parallel sessions
    • Plenary talks
    • Posters
    • Publishing workshop
    • Media workshop
    • Community forum
    • Special lunches
    • Hack day
  • Social
    • Welcome reception
    • Conference dinner
    • Football + BBQ evening
  • Outreach
    • Public talk
    • Outreach day
    • Media
  • Hull
    • Travel
    • Accommodation
    • Going out
    • Childcare
  • Contacts
  • NAM2017
    • Timetable
    • Delegates
    • Registration
  • Science
    • Parallel sessions
    • Plenary talks
    • Posters
    • Publishing workshop
    • Media workshop
    • Community forum
    • Special lunches
    • Hack day
  • Social
    • Welcome reception
    • Conference dinner
    • Football + BBQ evening
  • Outreach
    • Public talk
    • Outreach day
    • Media
  • Hull
    • Travel
    • Accommodation
    • Going out
    • Childcare
  • Contacts

Schedule by Session

Abstract

id
Comparative Planetary Science
A Localised Source of the Argon in the Lunar Exosphere
Date Submitted
2017-04-18 11:59:44
Jacob Kegerreis
Vincent Eke (Durham University), Richard Massey (Durham University), Simon Beaumont (Durham University), Richard Elphic (NASA), Luis Teodoro (NASA)
Durham University
The Moon possesses our nearest example of a surface-bounded exosphere, the most common type of atmosphere in the solar system. Argon is the most abundant species in the lunar exosphere and was recently measured there in great detail by the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE). The results included the discovery of a persistent argon enhancement over the western maria - the 'bulge' - prompting competing proposed explanations. Using an empirically motivated model of the Moon’s argon exosphere to test these hypotheses, we perform the first simulations with: spatially varying surface interactions; a source that reflects the lunar near-surface potassium distribution; and temporally varying cold trap areas. We find that the near-sunrise peak in argon exospheric density is the same for both the highland and mare regions, and is well reproduced by simple surface interactions with a constant desorption energy. Only a localised source is able to reproduce the observed overdensity, and must be either highly localised or have a very high equilibrium source (and loss) rate. We also demonstrate that large, seasonally varying cold traps could explain the long-term variation in the global argon density observed by LADEE.

Schedule

id
Tuesday
date time
13:30 - 15:00
14:30
Abstract
A Localised Source of the Argon in the Lunar Exosphere
Wilberforce LT-27

RASLogo

© 2023 Royal Astronomical Society

Login