Abstract
THE aseismicity of the Moon has been interpreted1 as an indication that the Moon is relatively cold in the interior. More precisely, the temperature T (z) at depth z is inferred to be so low that the strength σmax (T, τ) of the rock over the appropriate time scale τ is greater than the ambient shear stress σ (z, τ), so that no displacement occurs. (The time scales range from weeks for tidal stresses to aeons for mascon stresses.) Unfortunately, we have only a poor understanding of the long term strength σmax and of the fields of stress. Hence this argument can put only rough upper limits on the temperature profile; it is definitely below the solidus, and probably considerably below it.
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THOMSEN, L. Implications of Lunar Aseismicity. Nature 240, 94–95 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1038/240094a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/240094a0
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