LUNAR HIGHLANDS MEETS LUNAR MARIA: MAPPING THE PART OF THE WESTERN BOUNDARY OF OCEANUS PROCELLARUM IN LUNAR QUADRANGLE 10

Lunar Quadrangle 10 (LQ10) extends from 0° - 30° N and 45° - 90° W and includes the western boundary of Oceanus Procellarum. Examination of this region provides a unique opportunity to observe the nature and timing of multiple maria emplacement events both within Oceanus Procellarum and on the floors of impact craters within the adjacent highlands. Careful mapping of the lunar maria in this area will help to reveal genetic and temporal relations between the volcanic and tectonic features associated with the maria (such as rilles, floor-fractured impact craters and pyroclastic deposits) found within Oceanus Procellarum and in numerous maria ponds dispersed throughout the adjacent highlands. In addition, investigating the contact between the highlands and maria here will improve our understanding of regolith mixing over time and space. The map base will consist primarily of Lunar Orbiter images and Clementine data, supplemented with Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter data (particularly from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter and the Narrow-Angle Camera) as required. We will present preliminary results of our geologic map of the southwest quadrant of LQ10 that will address outstanding questions about the relation between lunar highlands and adjacent lunar maria.