Lunar dichotomy in surface water storage of impact glass beads

Abstract Water is the one of most precious resources for planetary utilisation. Lunar nearside impact glass beads (IGBs) have been demonstrated to contain abundant solar wind-derived water (SW-H2O); however, little is known about its farside counterpart. Here, we report the water abundances and hydr...

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Main Authors: Huicun He, Sen Hu, Liang Gao, Ruiying Li, Jialong Hao, Ross N. Mitchell, Kai Lu, Yubing Gao, Linxi Li, Mengfan Qiu, Zhan Zhou, Wei Yang, Shuhui Cai, Yi Chen, Lihui Jia, Qiu-Li Li, Hejiu Hui, Yangting Lin, Xian-Hua Li, Fu-Yuan Wu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-05-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60388-y
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author Huicun He
Sen Hu
Liang Gao
Ruiying Li
Jialong Hao
Ross N. Mitchell
Kai Lu
Yubing Gao
Linxi Li
Mengfan Qiu
Zhan Zhou
Wei Yang
Shuhui Cai
Yi Chen
Lihui Jia
Qiu-Li Li
Hejiu Hui
Yangting Lin
Xian-Hua Li
Fu-Yuan Wu
author_facet Huicun He
Sen Hu
Liang Gao
Ruiying Li
Jialong Hao
Ross N. Mitchell
Kai Lu
Yubing Gao
Linxi Li
Mengfan Qiu
Zhan Zhou
Wei Yang
Shuhui Cai
Yi Chen
Lihui Jia
Qiu-Li Li
Hejiu Hui
Yangting Lin
Xian-Hua Li
Fu-Yuan Wu
author_sort Huicun He
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Water is the one of most precious resources for planetary utilisation. Lunar nearside impact glass beads (IGBs) have been demonstrated to contain abundant solar wind-derived water (SW-H2O); however, little is known about its farside counterpart. Here, we report the water abundances and hydrogen isotope compositions and their distribution in farside IGBs collected by the Chang’e-6 mission to investigate the role of IGBs in the lunar surface water cycle. Farside IGBs are found to have water abundances of ~10–1,070 μg.g−1 with hydrogen isotopes (δD) ranging from –988‰ to >2000‰ and display typical SW-H2O hydration profiles. The SW-H2O hydration depths in farside IGBs are strikingly shallower than in nearside IGBs. Moreover, the hydration profiles are only found in mare IGBs, with none observed in non-mare IGBs, indicating that SW-H2O hydration in IGBs is likely composition dependent. These findings indicate that SW-H2O storage of IGBs exhibits a dichotomy distribution in lunar soils.
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issn 2041-1723
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publishDate 2025-05-01
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series Nature Communications
spelling doaj-art-7145cfd744b24a30967234cf3e3d35fe2025-08-20T02:00:01ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-05-0116111210.1038/s41467-025-60388-yLunar dichotomy in surface water storage of impact glass beadsHuicun He0Sen Hu1Liang Gao2Ruiying Li3Jialong Hao4Ross N. Mitchell5Kai Lu6Yubing Gao7Linxi Li8Mengfan Qiu9Zhan Zhou10Wei Yang11Shuhui Cai12Yi Chen13Lihui Jia14Qiu-Li Li15Hejiu Hui16Yangting Lin17Xian-Hua Li18Fu-Yuan Wu19Key Laboratory of the Earth and Planetary Physics, Chinese Academy of SciencesKey Laboratory of the Earth and Planetary Physics, Chinese Academy of SciencesKey Laboratory of the Earth and Planetary Physics, Chinese Academy of SciencesKey Laboratory of the Earth and Planetary Physics, Chinese Academy of SciencesKey Laboratory of the Earth and Planetary Physics, Chinese Academy of SciencesCollege of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of SciencesState Key Laboratory of Lithospheric and Environmental Coevolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of SciencesKey Laboratory of the Earth and Planetary Physics, Chinese Academy of SciencesKey Laboratory of the Earth and Planetary Physics, Chinese Academy of SciencesKey Laboratory of the Earth and Planetary Physics, Chinese Academy of SciencesKey Laboratory of the Earth and Planetary Physics, Chinese Academy of SciencesKey Laboratory of the Earth and Planetary Physics, Chinese Academy of SciencesState Key Laboratory of Lithospheric and Environmental Coevolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of SciencesState Key Laboratory of Lithospheric and Environmental Coevolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of SciencesState Key Laboratory of Lithospheric and Environmental Coevolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of SciencesState Key Laboratory of Lithospheric and Environmental Coevolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of SciencesState Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research& Lunar and Planetary Science Institute, School of the Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing UniversityKey Laboratory of the Earth and Planetary Physics, Chinese Academy of SciencesState Key Laboratory of Lithospheric and Environmental Coevolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of SciencesState Key Laboratory of Lithospheric and Environmental Coevolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of SciencesAbstract Water is the one of most precious resources for planetary utilisation. Lunar nearside impact glass beads (IGBs) have been demonstrated to contain abundant solar wind-derived water (SW-H2O); however, little is known about its farside counterpart. Here, we report the water abundances and hydrogen isotope compositions and their distribution in farside IGBs collected by the Chang’e-6 mission to investigate the role of IGBs in the lunar surface water cycle. Farside IGBs are found to have water abundances of ~10–1,070 μg.g−1 with hydrogen isotopes (δD) ranging from –988‰ to >2000‰ and display typical SW-H2O hydration profiles. The SW-H2O hydration depths in farside IGBs are strikingly shallower than in nearside IGBs. Moreover, the hydration profiles are only found in mare IGBs, with none observed in non-mare IGBs, indicating that SW-H2O hydration in IGBs is likely composition dependent. These findings indicate that SW-H2O storage of IGBs exhibits a dichotomy distribution in lunar soils.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60388-y
spellingShingle Huicun He
Sen Hu
Liang Gao
Ruiying Li
Jialong Hao
Ross N. Mitchell
Kai Lu
Yubing Gao
Linxi Li
Mengfan Qiu
Zhan Zhou
Wei Yang
Shuhui Cai
Yi Chen
Lihui Jia
Qiu-Li Li
Hejiu Hui
Yangting Lin
Xian-Hua Li
Fu-Yuan Wu
Lunar dichotomy in surface water storage of impact glass beads
Nature Communications
title Lunar dichotomy in surface water storage of impact glass beads
title_full Lunar dichotomy in surface water storage of impact glass beads
title_fullStr Lunar dichotomy in surface water storage of impact glass beads
title_full_unstemmed Lunar dichotomy in surface water storage of impact glass beads
title_short Lunar dichotomy in surface water storage of impact glass beads
title_sort lunar dichotomy in surface water storage of impact glass beads
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60388-y
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