Connect with us

Misc

Mapped: The Geology of the Moon in Astronomical Detail

Published

on

View the full resolution version of this map (47mb)

Geology of the Moon Map

View the full resolution version of this map (47mb)

Mapped: The Geology of the Moon in Astronomical Detail

If you were to land on the Moon, where would you go?

Today’s post is the incredible Unified Geologic Map of the Moon from the USGS, which combines information from six regional lunar maps created during the Apollo era, as well as recent spacecraft observations.

Feet on the Ground, Head in the Sky

Since the beginning of humankind, the Moon has captured our collective imagination. It is one of the few celestial bodies visible to the naked eye from Earth. Over time different cultures wrapped the Moon in their own myths. To the Egyptians it was the god Thoth, to the Greeks, the goddess Artemis, and to the Hindus, Chandra.

Thoth was portrayed as a wise counselor who solved disputes and invented writing and the 365-day calendar. A headdress with a lunar disk sitting atop a crescent moon denoted Thoth as the arbiter of times and seasons.

Artemis was the twin sister of the sun god Apollo, and in Greek mythology she presided over childbirth, fertility, and the hunt. Just like her brother that illuminated the day, she was referred to as the torch bringer during the dark of night.

Chandra means the “Moon” in Sanskrit, Hindi, and other Indian languages. According to one Hindu legend, Ganesha—an elephant-headed deity—was returning home on a full moon night after a feast. On the journey, a snake crossed his pathway, frightening his horse. An overstuffed Ganesha fell to the ground on his stomach, vomiting out his dinner. On observing this, Chandra laughed, causing Ganesha to lose his temper. He broke off one of his tusks and hurled it toward the Moon, cursing him so that he would never be whole again. This legend describes the Moon’s waxing and waning including the big crater on the Moon, visible from Earth.

Such lunar myths have waned as technology has evolved, removing the mystery of the Moon but also opening up scientific debate.

Celestial Evolution: Two Theories

The pot marks on the Moon can be easily seen from the Earth’s surface with the naked eye, and it has led to numerous theories as to the history of the Moon. Recent scientific study brings forward two primary ideas.

One opinion of those who have studied the Moon is that it was once a liquid mass, and that its craters represent widespread and prolonged volcanic activity, when the gases and lava of the heated interior exploded to the surface.

However, there is another explanation for these lunar craters. According to G. K. Gilbert, of the USGS, the Moon was formed by the joining of a ring of meteorites which once encircled the Earth, and after the formation of the lunar sphere, the impact of meteors produced “craters” instead of arising from volcanic activity.

Either way, mapping the current contours of the lunar landscape will guide future human missions to the Moon by revealing regions that may be rich in useful resources or areas that need more detailed mapping to land a spacecraft safely .

Lay of the Land: Reading the Contours of the Moon

This map is a 1:5,000,000-scale geologic map built from six separate digital maps. The goal was to create a resource for science research and analysis to support future geologic mapping efforts.

Mapping purposes divide the Moon into the near side and far side. The far side of the Moon is the side that always faces away from the Earth, while the near side faces towards the Earth.

The most visible topographic feature is the giant far side South Pole-Aitken basin, which possesses the lowest elevations of the Moon. The highest elevations are found just to the northeast of this basin. Other large impact basins, such as the Maria Imbrium, Serenitatis, Crisium, Smythii, and Orientale, also have low elevations and elevated rims.

Shapes of Craters

The colors on the map help to define regional features while also highlighting consistent patterns across the lunar surface. Each one of these regions hosts the potential for resources.

Lunar Resources

Only further study will resolve the evolution of the Moon, but it is clear that there are resources earthlings can exploit. Hydrogen, oxygen, silicon, iron, magnesium, calcium, aluminum, manganese, and titanium are some of the metals and minerals on the Moon.

Interestingly, oxygen is the most abundant element on the Moon. It’s a primary component found in rocks, and this oxygen can be converted to a breathable gas with current technology. A more practical question would be how to best power this process.

Lunar soil is the easiest to mine, it can provide protection from radiation and meteoroids as material for construction. Ice can provide water for radiation shielding, life support, oxygen, and rocket propellant feed stock. Compounds from permanently shadowed craters could provide methane, ammonia, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide.

This is just the beginning—as more missions are sent to the Moon, there is more to discover.

Space Faring Humans

NASA plans to land astronauts—one female, one male—to the Moon by 2024 as part of the Artemis 3 mission, and after that, about once each year. It’s the beginning of an unfulfilled promise to make humans a space-faring civilization.

The Moon is just the beginning…the skills learned to map Near-Earth Objects will be the foundation for further exploration and discovery of the universe.

Subscribe to Visual Capitalist
Click for Comments

Misc

Charted: The End-of-Life Recycling Rates of Select Metals

End-of-life recycling rates measure the percentage of a material that is recovered at the end of its useful life, rather than being disposed of or incinerated.

Published

on

A chart ranking the end-of-life recycling rates (EOL-RR) of commonly used metals in the economy, per 2021 data from the International Energy Agency.

Charted: The End-of-Life Recycling Rates of Select Metals

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on Apple or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

We visualize the end-of-life recycling rates (EOL-RR) of commonly used metals in the economy. Data is sourced from the International Energy Agency, last updated in 2021.

ℹ️ EOL-RR is the percentage of a material or product that is recycled or recovered at the end of its useful life, rather than being disposed of in landfills or incinerated.

Tracking recycling rates helps manage resources better and make smarter policies, guiding efforts to cut down on waste.

Ranked: The End of Life Recycling Rates of Select Metals

Gold has an 86% recycling rate according to the latest available data. Per the Boston Consulting Group, one-third of total gold supply was met through recycling between 1995–2014.

MetalEnd-of-life recycling
rate (2021)
🔍 Used In
Gold86%💍 Jewelry / Electronics
Platinum/Palladium60%🔬 Optical fibers / Dental fillings
Nickel60%🔋 Batteries / Turbine blades
Silver50%💍 Jewelry / Mirrors
Copper46%🔌 Electrical wiring / Industrial equipment
Aluminum42%✈️ Aeroplane parts / Cans
Chromium34%🍽️ Stainless steel / Leather tanning
Zinc33%🔗 Galvanizing metal / Making rubber
Cobalt32%🔋 Batteries / Turbine engines
Lithium0.5%🔋 Batteries / Pacemakers
REEs0.2%📱 Mobile phones / Hard drives

Note: Figures are rounded.

Several factors can influence metal recycling rates. According to this International Resource Panel report, metals that are used in large quantities (steel) or have a high value (gold) tend to have higher recycling rates.

However, for materials used in small quantities in complex products (rare earth elements in electronics), recycling becomes far more challenging.

Finally, a metal’s EOL-RR is strongly influenced by the least efficient link in the recycling chain, which is typically how it’s initially collected.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed this post, check out Critical Materials: Where China, the EU, and the U.S. Overlap which shows how critical materials are classified within different jurisdictions.

Continue Reading

Misc

Companies with the Most Fossil Fuel and Cement CO2 Emissions

Half of the world’s total fossil fuel and cement carbon dioxide emissions in 2023 came from just 36 companies.

Published

on

Half of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions in 2023 came from just 36 companies. Here, we chart the world's biggest polluters.

Companies with the Most Fossil Fuel and Cement CO2 Emissions

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Key Takeaways

  • Half of the world’s fossil fuel and cement carbon dioxide emissions in 2023 came from just 36 entities, according to a report by the Carbon Majors Project
  • If Saudi Aramco were a country, it would be the fourth-largest polluter in the world, after China, the U.S., and India.
  • Five publicly traded oil companies—ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, TotalEnergies, and BP—together accounted for 5% of global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels.

Chinese Companies Dominate the List

This graphic is based on Carbon Majors, a database of historical production data from 180 of the world’s largest oil, gas, coal, and cement producers representing 169 active and 11 inactive entities.

In 2023, the top 20 highest carbon-producing entities were responsible for 17.5 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO₂e) in emissions, accounting for 40.8% of global fossil fuel and cement CO₂ emissions. The list is largely dominated by state-owned companies, with 16 of the top 20 being state-controlled. Notably, eight Chinese entities contributed to 17.3% of global fossil fuel and cement CO₂ emissions in 2023.

EntityTotal emissions (MtCO2e)Global CO2 emissions (%)
1Saudi Aramco4.4%
2Coal India3.7%
3CHN Energy3.7%
4Jinneng Group2.9%
5Cement industry of China2.8%
6National Iranian Oil Company2.8%
7Gazprom2.3%
8Rosneft1.9%
9Shandong Energy1.7%
10China National Coal Group1.7%
11Abu Dhabi National Oil Company1.6%
12CNPC1.6%
13Shaanxi Coal and Chemical Industry Group1.6%
14Iraq National Oil Company1.3%
15Shanxi Coking Coal Group1.3%
16ExxonMobil1.3%
17Sonatrach1.2%
18Chevron1.1%
19Kuwait Petroleum Corp.1.0%
20Petrobras1.0%
21Shell0.9%
22Pemex0.9%
23TotalEnergies0.8%
24QatarEnergy0.8%
25Lukoil0.8%
26BP0.8%
27Glencore0.7%
28China Huaneng Group0.7%
29Luan Chemical Group0.7%
30Equinor0.7%
31Peabody Energy0.7%
32Nigerian National Petroleum Corp.0.6%
33CNOOC0.6%
34ConocoPhillips0.6%
35Eni0.6%
36Petronas0.5%

Coal continued to be the largest source of emissions in 2023, representing 41.1% of emissions in the database and continuing a steady upward trend since 2016. Coal emissions grew by 1.9% (258 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent – MtCO₂e) from 2022, while cement saw the largest relative increase at 6.5% (82 MtCO₂e), driven by expanding production.

In contrast, natural gas emissions fell by 3.7% (164 MtCO₂e), and oil emissions remained stable with only a slight increase of 0.3% (73 MtCO₂e).

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic that shows greenhouse gas emissions by sector in 2023, according to data was compiled by the United Nations. The power sector remains the largest emissions contributor.

Continue Reading

Subscribe

Popular