Fine debris flows formed by the Orientale basin

Abstract

The prototype for investigations of formation mechanisms and related geological effects of large impact basins on planetary bodies has been the Orientale basin on the Moon. Its widespread secondaries, light plains, and near-rim melt flows have been well mapped in previous studies. Flow features are also widely associated with secondaries on planetary bodies, but their physical properties are not well constrained. The nature of flow features associated with large impact basins are critically important to understand the emplacement process of basin ejecta, which is one of the most fundamental processes in shaping the shallow crusts of planetary bodies. Here we use multisource remote sensing data to constrain the physical properties of flow features formed by the secondaries of the Orientale basin. The results suggest that such flows are dominated by centimeter-scale fine debris fines; larger boulders are not abundant. The shattering of target materials during the excavation of the Orientale basin, landing impact of ejecta that formed the secondaries, and grain comminution within the flows have substantially reduced particle sizes, forming the fine flows. The discovery of global-wide fine debris flows formed by large impact basins has profound implications to the interpretation of both previously-returned samples and remote sensing data.