Observational analysis reveals spatial asymmetry in SiO2 on the lunar surface, suggesting diverse magmatic sources and crustal evolution.
The distribution of FeO and TiO 2 reveals mantle source characteristics and basaltic diversity, whereas SiO 2 distribution is closely related to magma evolution and crustal differentiation. However, global studies on SiO 2 remain limited. To address this gap, we combined the latest lunar sample data, Kaguya Multiband Imager spectra, and Christiansen Feature to develop a One-Dimensional Convolutional Neural Network (1D-CNN) for mapping lunar SiO 2 . The results reveal a clear spatial asymmetry in SiO 2 : high-latitude regions on the nearside show higher SiO 2 , while low-latitude regions exhibit lower values. Mare Tranquillitatis and Oceanus Procellarum have low SiO 2 but distinct TiO 2 variations, indicating different basaltic types and magmatic sources. The highlands are dominated by ferroan anorthosite, whereas the maria mainly consist of mafic to ultramafic rocks. Incorporating Chang’E-6 samples and Christiansen Feature data improved model accuracy. Future work on silicic volcanic rocks will further refine the global SiO 2 map and deepen understanding of lunar crustal evolution.
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Chen et al. (2025) studied this question.
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