Researchers used chromium isotopes, the distribution of which is sensitive to temperature variations and gas equilibrium during evaporation, to constrain the conditions under which the Moon's volatile elements evaporated, and found that the temperature of evaporation was around 1600-1800 K, far lower than expected if evaporation occurred at the time of the giant Moon-forming impact, suggesting that volatile loss likely occurred following accretion of the Moon.
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Article #18-09060: "Volatile loss following cooling and accretion of the Moon revealed by chromium isotopes," by Paolo A. Sossi, Frédéric Moynier, and Kirsten van Zuilen.
MEDIA CONTACTS: Paolo A. Sossi, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, FRANCE; ; e-mail: sossi@ipgp.fr; Frédéric Moynier, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, FRANCE; tel: +33 1 83957788; e-mail : moynier@ipgp.fr
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences