Nature of the Lunar Surface

Abstract

RECENTLY, Gold¹ has discussed the origin of the lunar craters and maria. He concurs in the meteorite impact theory of the origin of the craters advocated by Baldwin², and agrees in major conclusions on the impact of explosions with Gilvarry and Hill³. For strong reasons⁴, Gold argues against lava as the agent producing the smooth dark surfaces of the maria (which he presumes to arise in the first instance merely as meteoritic craters considerably larger than the average). He proposes to explain the smooth surfaces by an erosion process creating dust in the highlands, coupled with a transport mechanism depositing it in the maria. The purpose of this communication is to point out the possibility of explaining simultaneously the erosion and transport required in Gold's theory, by a process known to be operative on the Earth on a large scale (in contrast to some suggestions by Gold and by Urey⁴).