Paleoseismic activity in the moon’s Taurus-Littrow valley inferred from boulder falls and landslides
2025-07-30
The Taurus-Littrow valley offers a unique opportunity to analyze surface changes due to seismic activity on the lunar surface. Ground acceleration from moonquakes has triggered landslides and boulder falls in the valley. The formation and growth of the Lee-Lincoln thrust fault is a likely source of the moonquakes. Here, we estimate the ground acceleration and quake magnitude for four boulders and one landslide: all sampled by Apollo 17 astronauts. These features all have exposure ages that establish the approximate timing of the moonquakes. Our analysis suggests that the structural relief of the Lee-Lincoln fault scarp is the result of multiple coseismic slip events with a minimum body wave magnitude M w of ~2.9 to 3.3. The formation and growth of thousands of such globally distributed young thrust faults, through multiple coseismic events, suggest that the Moon has a history of widespread strong shallow moonquakes. Shallow moonquakes from likely active faults may pose a potential hazard to long-term outposts.