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Garrick-Bethell & Zuber 2005
Garrick-Bethell, I. and Zuber, M.T. (2005). An indigenous origin for the South Pole Aitken basin thorium anomaly. Geophysical Research Letters 32: doi: 10.1029/2005GL023142. issn: 0094-8276.

The northwest portion of the Moon's South Pole-Aitken basin contains an anomalously high abundance of thorium as determined by Apollo and Lunar Prospector gamma-ray spectroscopy. The anomaly's proximity to the antipode of the Imbrium basin has led several investigators to suggest that the anomaly is the result of convergence of thorium-enriched ejecta from the Imbrium impact. Examination of this complex region with new higher-resolution thorium data and several other datasets reveals that a convergence of ejecta cannot explain the anomaly. Alternatively, we propose an indigenous and likely ancient source.

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Abstract

Keywords
Planetary Sciences, Solid Surface Planets, Composition (1060, 3672), Planetary Sciences, Solid Surface Planets, Interiors, Planetary Sciences, Solar System Objects, Moon
Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
http://www.agu.org/journals/gl/
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
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