Dr. Kristen M. Luchsinger

Dr. Kristen M. Luchsinger

Lunar volatiles modeling and data analysis, currently an NPP at NASA Ames

Publications

Buried Ice Deposits in Lunar Polar Cold Traps were Disrupted by Ballistic Sedimentation

Published in JGR - Planets, 2023

A recent study modeling the rate of ice delivery, ejecta deposition and ice loss from cold traps predicted that gigatons of ice could be buried below 100s of meters of crater ejecta and regolith. However, crater ejecta vigorously mix the target on impact through ballistic sedimentation, which may disrupt buried ice deposits. Here, we developed a thermal model to predict ice stability during ballistic sedimentation events. We then modeled cold trap ice and ejecta stratigraphy over geologic time using Monte Carlo methods. We found that ballistic sedimentation disrupted large ice deposits in most cases, dispersing them into smaller layers. Ice retention decreased in most cases, but varied significantly with the sequence of ejecta delivery, particularly from basin-forming events. Over many model runs, we found that south polar craters Amundsen, Cabeus, and Cabeus B were most likely to retain large deposits of ice at depths up to 100m, shallow enough to be detectable with ground-penetrating radar.

Recommended citation: C. J. Tai Udovicic, K. R. Frizzell, G. R. L. Kodikara, M. Kopp, K. M. Luchsinger, A. Madera, M. L. Meier, T. G. Paladino, R. V. Patterson, F. B. Wroblewski, D. A. Kring (2023). "Buried Ice Deposits in Lunar Polar Cold Traps were Disrupted by Ballistic Sedimentation" JGR - Planets.. doi: 10.1029/2022JE007567 https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2022JE007336

Seasons of Ice: Water Ice Migration and Seasonal Transient Shadow at the Lunar Poles

Published in JGR - Planets, 2022

Lunar water ice can be broadly categorized as belonging to one of two populations: deep, ancient, stable deposits, and shallow, transient, recent deposits. However, a third state for lunar ice is also possible. Temporary sequestration occurs when ice is deposited into a transiently shadowed region at the lunar poles. These temporarily sequestered ice deposits are unstable over geologic time scales, but in the short term, are capable of a wide range of migration, sublimation, and retention patterns due to their thermally dependent sublimation and migration rates. We developed a model to characterize the range of possible migration and retention behaviors for temporarily sequestered ice deposits within locations with dynamic illumination conditions.

Recommended citation: Luchsinger, Kristen M. & Chanover, Nancy J. (2022). "Seasons of Ice: Water Ice Migration and Seasonal Transient Shadow at the Lunar Poles." JGR - Planets.. 127, 10. https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2022JE007336

Water within a permanently shadowed lunar crater: Further LCROSS modeling and analysis

Published in Icarus, 2022

The 2009 Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) impact mission detected water ice absorption using spectroscopic observations of the impact-generated debris plume taken by the Shepherding Spacecraft, confirming an existing hypothesis regarding the existence of water ice in permanently shadowed regions within Cabeus crater. Ground-based observations in support of the mission were able to further constrain the mass of the debris plume and the concentration of the water ice ejected during the impact. In this work, we explore additional constraints on the initial conditions of the pre-impact lunar sediment required in order to produce a plume model that is consistent with the ground-based observations.

Recommended citation: Luchsinger, Kristen M., Chanover, Nancy J., & Strycker, Paul D. (2021). "Water within a permanently shadowed lunar crater: Further LCROSS modeling and analysis " Icarus. Volume 354, article id. 114089. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0019103520304322?via%3Dihub

The Host Galaxies of Micro-Jansky Radio Sources

Published in The Astronomical Journal, 2022

We combine a deep 0.5 square degree, 1.4 GHz deep radio survey in the Lockman Hole with infrared and optical data in the same field, including the Spitzer Extragalactic Representative Volume Survey (SERVS) and UKIDSS near-infrared surveys, to make the largest study to date of the host galaxies of radio sources with typical radio flux densities ∼ 50 μJy.

Recommended citation: Luchsinger, K. M. et al. (2015). "The Host Galaxies of Micro-Jansky Radio Sources." The Astronomical Journal. Volume 150, Issue 3, article id. 87, 11. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0004-6256/150/3/87