Abstract
THE hypothesis that the lunar mantle is at present converting in a manner somewhat similar to that of the Earth is strongly supported by further analysis of lunar magnetometer data. Using the assumption that the electrical conductivity of the lunar interior varies with temperature, as laboratory measurements on rock-forming silicates indicate, I conclude that the Moon has a thermal boundary layer which is no more than 200 km thick and an interior which is relatively isothermal. Such a temperature profile is predicted by the hypothesis of a slowly convecting lunar mantle; it is in serious conflict with the hypothesis that the Moon is statically cooling and has a rigid crust extending to a depth of many hundreds of kilometres.
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KUCKES, A. Lunar magnetometry and mantle convection. Nature 252, 670–672 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/252670a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/252670a0
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