Abstract
The surface of each mare is not a homogeneous geomorphological unit, but displays a variety of geomorphologies. The interpretation of this phenomenon depends on the assumptions one is willing to accept. If the filling of the mare basins occurred relatively slowly, then the geomorphologies are a time function and indicate a time span of not less than three quarters of a billion years between the beginning and the end of the mare filling activity. If, on the other hand, the maria were filled by lava immediately after the basin formation and remained liquid for a relatively long time during which the extensive bombardment stopped, then the different morphologies indicate vagaries in the final stages of the bombardment and of the cooling history.
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Paper dedicated to Professor Harold C. Urey on the occasion of his 80th birthday on 29 April, 1973.
Research conducted at the Lunar Science Institute which is operated by the Universities Space Research Association under Contract No. NSR 09-051-001 with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This paper is Lunar Science Institute Contribution No. 109.
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Ronca, L.B. The filling of the lunar mare basins. The Moon 7, 239–248 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00578818
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00578818