COMBINING COMPOSITIONAL AND MORPHOLOGIC DATA TO MAP THE COPERNICUS LUNAR QUADRANGLE: A CASE STUDY FOR NEW METHODS IN LUNAR GEOLOGIC MAPPING (Invited Presentation)

The recent flood of lunar data has provided unprecedented views of the lunar surface, which in turn has shown us that portions of the lunar surface, such as the Copernicus lunar quadrangle, contain numerous lunar lithologies with several possible origins. However, with increasingly abundant and complex data comes increasingly varied models for lunar surface processes. In fact, interpretations of the origin of specific units or features can vary depending on the data being used. In an effort to provide a comprehensive understanding of the evolution of the lunar crust within the Copernicus quad, we are integrating multiple data sets via end-member methodologies. Traditionally, two investigative strategies have been employed to determine the distribution and origin of specific geologic features and lithologies on the Moon: geologic/morphologic mapping and compositional mapping. Rarely, however, have the two methods been seamlessly integrated for lunar science investigations with the specific intent of producing a USGS geologic map. The abundance of high-resolution lunar data, in combination with the integration of the two end-member mapping methodologies, has the potential to provide significant new constraints on the formation and evolution of the lunar crust, to establish a comprehensive geologic and stratigraphic context wherein subsequent studies can be conducted, and to delineate refined approaches for the systematic production of geologic maps of the Moon. This project addresses several major lunar science issues including: (1) examination of the heterogeneity of lunar crustal materials and their vertical and horizontal distribution, (2) spatial and temporal variation of lunar lithologies, (3) refinements of the geologic and stratigraphic architecture of referent lunar materials, and (4) efficiency assessments of lunar mapping methods, including the role of data set type and resolution within the 1:2.5M scale quad-based mapping scheme. New constraints on the composition and structure of the lunar crust will follow which will improve estimates of the bulk composition of the Moon and allow new tests of models for the origin and evolution of the Moon.