Analysis of lunar wrinkle ridges regarding the maximum displacement–length scaling relationship and relevant geological factors

Wrinkle ridges are thrust fault-related landforms that are widely distributed on the Moon and terrestrial planets. We investigated the dimensions of ∼260 well-preserved wrinkle ridges with sufficient length in nine lunar maria. We found a positive linear relationship between the maximum displacement Dmax and length L of ridges in each mare. The Dmax/L ratio (γ) varies from 6.0 × 10−3 in Mare Nectaris to 2.74 × 10−2 in Mare Orientale, which may be relevant to some geological factors (such as basin ages, gravity signatures, and basalt properties) and may depend on ridge formation times and growth stages. Basin formation ages and Bouguer gravity anomalies that possibly represent the regional flexure and concentration of stresses beneath basins are highly correlated with γ. Ridges are affected by basin modification processes. Significant in-group variations in γ indicate that faults could have grown based on the segment linkage model, having been frozen at different stages of tectonic development when growth stopped. We speculate that complex internal and external stresses acted on the lunar topography and changed the propagation of underlying thrust faults.