Evidence for surface water ice in the lunar polar regions using reflectance measurements from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter and temperature measurements from the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment.

ABSTRACT: We find that the reflectance of the lunar surface within 5 ° of latitude of the South Pole increases rapidly with decreasing temperature, near ~110K, behavior consistent with the presence of surface water iceThe North polar region does not show this behavior, nor do South polar surfaces at latitudes more than 5° from the pole. This South pole reflectance anomaly persists when analysis is limited to surfaces with slopes less than 10° to eliminate false detection due to the brightening effect of mass wasting, and also when the very bright south polar crater Shackleton is excluded from the analysis. We also find that south polar regions of permanent shadow that have been reported to be generally brighter at 1064 nm do not show anomalous reflectance when their annual maximum surface temperatur

SUBMITTER: Fisher EA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7197374 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature