New study finds water in moon rocks

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-07-10 14:17

Using high precision secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), the team was surprised to discover that the beads contain around 45 parts per million of water.

By modelling the dynamics of the volcanic eruption and rate of cooling, researchers calculated that approximately 95 percent of any water would have been lost during volcanic activity that brought the beads to the surface.

This leads to an estimate that lava deep within the moon contains water at up to 745 parts per million -- similar to that in Earth's upper mantle.

"Our model is not perfect - so although we know there is water there, we cannot be sure exactly how much," said Alberto Saal, lead author on the research. Even so, Saal added, the presence of water should definitely be considered in future models of the moon's formation.

"This is a surprising and important result," said David Stevenson, an expert on the evolution of planets at the California Institute of Technology. "Water lowers the melting point of rocks, so it could change the evolution of a body such as the moon."

"But one important thing to note is that the moon is probably heterogeneous," Stevenson added. "It is possible that during a giant impact some areas of water could have become trapped. The discovery of water in one place doesn't necessarily mean the rest of the moon is the same."

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