Mapping and compositional analysis of mare basalts in the Aristarchus region of the Moon using Clementine data

The process of accurately defining and outlining mare basalt units is necessary for constraining the stratigraphy and ages of basalt units, which are used to determine the duration and the flux of lunar volcanism. We use a combination of Clementine's five-band ultraviolet/visible data and TiO2 and FeO abundance distribution maps to define homogenous mare basalt units and characterize their compositional variations (with maturity) in the Aristarchus region. With 20 groups of distinct mare basaltic soils identified using the method in this paper, six additional spectrally defined areas and five basaltic units are constructed, and their mineralogic quantization values provide new constraints on their temporal and spatial evolution. Our results indicate that the Aristarchus region has diverse basalt units and a complex history of volcanic evolution. We also demonstrate that the techniques, from which spectrally distinct mare basalts can be mapped, performed well in this study and can be confidently expanded to other mare regions of the Moon.