Petrogenesis and chronology of lunar meteorite Northwest Africa 4472: A KREEPy regolith breccia from the Moon

Northwest Africa (NWA) 4472 is a polymict lunar regolith meteorite. The sample is KREEP-rich (high concentrations of potassium, rare earth elements and phosphorus) and comprises a heterogeneous array of lithic and mineral fragments. These clasts and mineral fragments were sourced from a range of lunar rock types including the lunar High Magnesian Suite, the High Alkali Suite, KREEP basalts, mare basalts and a variety of impact crater environments. The KREEP-rich nature of NWA 4472 indicates that the sample was ejected from regolith on the nearside of the Moon in the Procellarum KREEP Terrane and we have used Lunar Prospector gamma-ray remote sensing data to show that the meteorite is most similar to (and most likely sourced from) regoliths adjacent to the Imbrium impact basin.U-Pb and Pb-Pb age dates of NWA 4472 phosphate phases reveal that the breccia has sampled Pre-Nectarian (4.35 Ga) rocks related to early episodes of KREEP driven magmatism. Some younger phosphate U-Pb and Pb-Pb age dates are likely indicative of impact resetting events at 3.9-4 Ga, consistent with the suggested timing of basin formation on the Moon. Our study also shows that NWA 4472 has sampled impact melts and glass with an alkali-depleted, incompatible trace element-rich (high Sc, low Rb/Th ratios, low K) compositional signature not related to typical Apollo high-K KREEP, or that sampled by KREEPy lunar meteorite Sayh al Uhaymir (SaU) 169. This provides evidence that there are numerous sources of KREEP-rich protoliths on the Moon.     

Basaltic magmatism on the Moon: A perspective from volcanic picritic glass beads

It is widely accepted that basaltic magmas are products of partial fusion of periodotite within planetary mantles. As such, they provide valuable insights into the composition, structure, and processes of planetary interiors. Those compositions which approach primary melt compositions provide the most direct information about planetary interiors and serve as a starting point to understand basaltic evolution. Within the collection of lunar samples returned by the Apollo and Luna missions are homogeneous, picritic glass beads of volcanic origin. These picritic glasses are our closest approximations to primary magmas. As such, these glass beads provide a unique perspective concerning the origin of mare basalts, the characteristics of the lunar interior, and processes in the early differentiation of the Moon. We have obtained trace element data for these picritic glasses using SIMS techniques. These data and literature isotopic and experimental data on the picritic glasses are placed within the framework of mare basaltic magmatism.The volcanic glasses are very diverse in their trace element characteristics, for example, they have a wide range of REE pattern shapes and concentrations. Like the crystalline mare basalts, all picritic glasses have a negative Eu anomaly. Unlike the crystalline mare basalts, there is little correlation between the size of the Eu anomaly and overall REE concentrations. Trace element differences among the various glasses suggests that a KREEP component was incorporated into their mantle source. This implies large scale mixing of the “Lunar Magma Ocean”-derived cumulate pile. Subtle differences among glasses suggest that local mixing of sources may also have been an important process. Preservation of subtle chemical differences in the picritic glasses and crystalline basalts may be interpreted as indicating that they were produced by small to moderate degrees of partial melting and that the lunar mantle did not experience extensive melting during episodes of mare volcanism.Several lines of evidence are consistent with the view that the picritic glasses were derived from mantle sources that were compositionally distinct from the sources for crystalline mare basalts. These are parallel, but no common, liquid lines of descent; chemical differences between picritic glasses and the more primitive crystalline mare basalts; experimental studies indicating that the picritic glasses are multiply saturated at depths greater than that of the mare basalts; differences in lead isotopic data; and the mode of eruption (i.e., fire fountaining for glass beads). These data also provide circumstantial evidence that suggests that the picritic glasses were derived from a source somewhat more volatile-rich than that of the mare basalts.Several petrogenetic models are suggested by the trace element characteristics of the picritic glasses:

• 1.(1) Partial melting of heterogeneous lunar mantle at depths greater than 300 km to produce the parental magmas (picritic) for both the mare basalts and picritic glasses. Picritic magmas represented by glass beads were erupted to the surface with small degrees of fractional crystallization while mare basalts were produced by larger degrees of fractional crystallization (15–30%) of similar (but not identical) picritic magmas.
• 2.(2) Picritic magmas represented by the glass beads were generated at depths greater than 400 km in a volatile-enriched (relative to the mare basalt source) heterogeneous mantle while mare basalts are fractional crystallization products of picritic magmas generated at depths of less than 400 km.
• 3.(3) The picritic magmas represented by the glass beads represent polybaric melting that initiated at depths of at least 1000 km. A primitive mantle component or less processed cumulate mantle components may have been involved in the generation of the picritic glasses in any of these models.

     

Chemical composition of lunar meteorites and the lunar crust

The paper presents the first analyses of major and trace elements in 19 lunar meteorites newly found in Oman. These and literature data were used to assay the composition of highland, mare, and transitional (highland-mare interface) regions of the lunar surface. The databank used in the research comprises data on 44 meteorites weighing 11 kg in total, which likely represent 26 individual falls. Our data demonstrate that the lunar highland crust should be richer in Ca and Al but poorer in mafic and incompatible elements than it was thought based on studying lunar samples and the first orbital data. The Ir concentration in the highland crust and the analysis of lunar crater population suggest that most lunar impactites were formed by a single major impact event, which predetermined the geochemical characteristics of these rocks. Lunar mare regions should be dominated by low-Ti basalts, which are, however, enriched in LREEs compared to those sampled by lunar missions. The typical material of mare-highland interface zones can contain KREEP and magnesian VLT basalts. The composition of the lunar highland crust deduced from the chemistry of lunar meteorites does not contradict the model of the lunar magma ocean, but the average composition of lunar mare meteorites is inconsistent with this concept and suggests assimilation of KREEP material by basaltic magmas. The newly obtained evaluations of the composition of the highland crust confirm that the Moon can be enriched in refractory elements and depleted in volatile and siderophile elements.     

Apatite as a probe of halogen and water fugacities in the terrestrial planets

Apatite preserves a record of the halogen and water fugacities that existed during the waning stages of crystallization of planetary magmas, when they became saturated in phosphates. We develop a thermodynamic formalism based on apatite-merrillite equilibria that makes it possible to compare the relative values of halogen and water fugacities in Martian, lunar and terrestrial basalts, accounting for possible differences in pressure, temperature and oxygen fugacities among the planets. We show that each of these planetary bodies has distinctive ratios among volatile fugacities at apatite saturation and that these fugacities are in some cases related in a consistent way to volatile fugacities in the mantle magma sources. Our analysis shows that the Martian mantle parental to basaltic SNC meteorites was dry and poor in both fluorine and chlorine compared to the terrestrial mantle. The limited data available from Mars show no secular variation in mantle halogen and water fugacities from ∼4 Ga to ∼180 Ma. The water and halogens found in present-day Martian surface rocks have thus resided in the planet’s surficial systems since at least 4 Ga, and may have been degassed from the planet’s interior during a primordial crust-forming event. In comparison to the Earth and Mars, the Moon, and possibly the eucrite parent body too, appear to be strongly depleted not only in H₂O but also in Cl₂ relative to H₂O. Chlorine depletion is strongest in mare basalts, perhaps reflecting an eruptive process characteristic of large-scale lunar magmatism.     

Fluorine and chlorine abundances in lunar apatite: Implications for heterogeneous distributions of magmatic volatiles in the lunar interior

Apatite has been analyzed from mare basalts, the magnesian-suite, the alkali-suite, and KREEP-rich impact-melt rocks using an electron probe microanalysis routine developed specifically for apatite. We determined that all the lunar apatite grains analyzed are predominantly fluorine rich; however, they also contain varying concentrations of chlorine and a missing structural component that, after ruling out other possibilities, we attribute to OH. Apatite grains from mare basalts are compositionally distinct from the apatite grains in the magnesian-suite, the alkali-suite, and KREEP-rich impact-melt rocks, which all had similar apatite compositions. Apatite grains in mare basalts are depleted in chlorine, and many of the analyzed grains have stoichiometry that suggests a significant OH component (i.e., >0.08 structural formula units), whereas apatite grains in the magnesian suite, alkali suite, and KREEP-rich impact melts are enriched in chlorine and do not typically have a missing structural component that could be attributed to OH⁻ (within the detection limit of 0.08 sfu). From these data, we infer that residual liquids in the mare basalts were enriched in H₂O and fluorine relative to chlorine at the time of apatite crystallization, whereas residual liquids in magnesian-suite, alkali-suite, and KREEP-rich impact melts were enriched in chlorine relative to H₂O and fluorine at the time of apatite crystallization. The relative volatile abundance that we determined for the mare basalts is identical to the previously determined relative volatile abundance for the lunar picritic glasses. This result indicates that the observed relative volatile abundance signature of the picritic glass source is the same as that in the mare basalt source regions. The magnesian-suite, alkali-suite, and KREEP-rich impact-melt rocks likely reflect a volatile source with different volatile abundances than the sources of mare volcanics. Moreover, the magnesian-suite, alkali-suite, and KREEP-rich impact-melt rocks may reveal the relative volatile abundance of urKREEP, the residual melt of the magma ocean. This difference in relative magmatic volatile abundance among the lithologic groups investigated cannot be explained by degassing of a single source composition (relative to magmatic volatiles). The most reasonable explanation for the compositional disparity is a difference in the relative volatile abundances in the magmatic source regions of the Moon. Therefore, we conclude that the Moon has a heterogeneous distribution of magmatic volatiles within its interior, with a chemical divide (with respect to magmatic volatiles) existing between magmas that arise by partial melting of the lunar mantle and magmas that have seen significant contamination by a KREEP component.     

A high field strength element perspective on early lunar differentiation

Lunar rocks are inferred to tap the different fossil cumulate layers formed during crystallisation of a lunar magma ocean (LMO). A coherent dataset, including Zr isotope data and high precision HFSE (W, Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf) and REE (Nd, Sm, Lu) data, all obtained by isotope dilution, can now provide new insights into the processes active during LMO crystallisation and during the petrogenesis of lunar magmas. Measured ⁹²Zr and ⁹¹Zr abundances agree with the terrestrial value within 0.2 ε-units. Incompatible-trace-element enriched rocks from the Procellarum KREEP Terrane (PKT) display Nb/Ta and Zr/Hf above the bulk lunar value (ca. 17), and mare basalts display lower ratios, generally confirming the presence of complementary enriched and depleted mantle reservoirs on the Moon. The full compositional spectrum of lunar basalts, however, also requires interaction with ilmenite-rich layers in the lunar mantle. Notably, the high-Ti mare basalts analysed display the lowest Nb/Ta and Zr/Hf of all lunar rocks, and also higher Sm/Nd at similar Lu/Hf than low-Ti basalts. The high-Ti basalts also exhibit higher and strongly correlated Ta/W (up to 25) and Hf/W (up to 140), at similar W contents, which is difficult to reconcile with ortho- and clinopyroxene-controlled melting. Altogether, these patterns can be explained via assimilation of up to ca. 20% of ilmenite- and clinopyroxene-rich LMO cumulates by more depleted melts from the lower lunar mantle. Direct melting of ilmenite-rich cumulates or the possible presence of residual metals in the lunar mantle both cannot easily account for the observed Ta/W and Hf/W patterns. Cumulate assimilation is also a viable mechanism that can partially buffer the Lu/Hf of mare basalts at relatively low values while generating variable Sm/Nd. Thus, the dichotomy between low Lu/Hf of lunar basalts and high time integrated source Lu/Hf as inferred from Hf isotope compositions can potentially be explained. The proposed assimilation model also has important implications for the short-lived nuclide chronology of the Earth-Moon system. The new Hf/W and Ta/W data, together with a compilation of existing W-Th-U data for lunar rocks, indicate that the terrestrial and lunar mantles are indistinguishable in their Hf/W. Virtually identical εW and Hf/W in the terrestrial and lunar mantle suggest a strong link between final core-mantle equilibration on Earth and the Moon forming giant impact. Previously, linear arrays of lunar samples in ¹⁸²W vs. Hf/W and ¹⁴²Nd vs. Sm/Nd spaces have been interpreted as isochrons, arguing for LMO crystallisation as late as 250 Myrs after solar system formation. Based on the proposed assimilation model, the ¹⁸²W and ¹⁴²Nd in many lunar magmas can be shown to be decoupled from their ambient Hf/W and Sm/Nd source compositions. As a consequence, the ¹⁸²W vs. Hf/W and ¹⁴²Nd vs. Sm/Nd arrays would constitute mixing lines rather than isochrons. Hence, the lunar ¹⁸²Hf-¹⁸²W and ¹⁴⁶Sm-¹⁴²Nd data would be fully consistent with an “early” crystallisation age of the LMO, even as early as 50 Myrs after solar system formation when the Moon was probably formed.     

月球南海地区玄武岩厚度估算

月海玄武岩是月幔部分熔融喷出月表而形成的,其厚度可以反映月海玄武岩源区的深度。研究月海玄武岩厚度,对进一步认识月球区域岩浆作用或火山作用的演化历史具有不可替代的作用,也能够为整个月球的热演化和岩浆演化提供基本的约束条件。同时,玄武岩厚度可以用以推测月球内部产生玄武岩岩浆的体积,对月球火山作用的岩浆喷发总量以及月球内部的热状态具有指示作用。本文基于多源遥感数据,综合利用撞击坑的形貌特征与月坑挖掘深度法对南海地区撞击坑内(crater)和撞击坑间(intercrater)两类玄武岩地层的厚度进行了估算,并对玄武岩的面积、体积、年龄及岩浆活动做了简单分析。研究结果表明：南海地区撞击坑内的玄武岩厚度变化范围为0.11~4.75 km,平均值约为1.32 km,玄武岩的出露面积和出露体积分别为57.06~10 791.66 km2和10.25~51 260.38 km3;撞击坑间的玄武岩厚度变化范围为0.01~2.18 km,平均值约为0.34 km,玄武岩的出露面积和出露体积分别为6 487.89~33 170.55 km2和2 711.97~11 609.69 km3。因此,南海地区玄武岩厚度的变化范围分布在0.01~4.75 km,平均厚度约为600 m,出露的玄武岩总面积约为2.12×105 km2,总体积约为2.71×105 km3。通过分析南海地区的玄武岩年龄及分布特征,发现南海地区内的岩浆喷发活动主要集中发生在雨海纪至爱拉托逊纪时期,且其局部区域存在多次岩浆喷发及充填过程,但由于晚期玄武岩岩浆的喷发总量不足以覆盖早期已形成的玄武岩,导致晚期玄武岩与早期玄武岩同时存在于同一个玄武岩单元内。南海地区独特的玄武岩分布特征也与地形有关。     

The oxygen isotope composition, petrology and geochemistry of mare basalts: Evidence for large-scale compositional variation in the lunar mantle

To investigate the formation and early evolution of the lunar mantle and crust we have analysed the oxygen isotopic composition, titanium content and modal mineralogy of a suite of lunar basalts. Our sample set included eight low-Ti basalts from the Apollo 12 and 15 collections, and 12 high-Ti basalts from Apollo 11 and 17 collections. In addition, we have determined the oxygen isotopic composition of an Apollo 15 KREEP (K - potassium, REE - Rare Earth Element, and P - phosphorus) basalt (sample 15386) and an Apollo 14 feldspathic mare basalt (sample 14053). Our data display a continuum in bulk-rock δ¹⁸O values, from relatively low values in the most Ti-rich samples to higher values in the Ti-poor samples, with the Apollo 11 sample suite partially bridging the gap. Calculation of bulk-rock δ¹⁸O values, using a combination of previously published oxygen isotope data on mineral separates from lunar basalts, and modal mineralogy (determined in this study), match with the measured bulk-rock δ¹⁸O values. This demonstrates that differences in mineral modal assemblage produce differences in mare basalt δ¹⁸O bulk-rock values. Differences between the low- and high-Ti mare basalts appear to be largely a reflection of mantle-source heterogeneities, and in particular, the highly variable distribution of ilmenite within the lunar mantle. Bulk δ¹⁸O variation in mare basalts is also controlled by fractional crystallisation of a few key mineral phases. Thus, ilmenite fractionation is important in the case of high-Ti Apollo 17 samples, whereas olivine plays a more dominant role for the low-Ti Apollo 12 samples.Consistent with the results of previous studies, our data reveal no detectable difference between the Δ¹⁷O of the Earth and Moon. The fact that oxygen three-isotope studies have been unable to detect a measurable difference at such high precisions reinforces doubts about the giant impact hypothesis as presently formulated.     

Lunar geochemistry as told by lunar meteorites

About 36 lunar meteorites have been found in cold and hot deserts since the first one was found in 1979 in Antarctica. All are random samples ejected from unknown locations on the Moon by meteoroid impacts. Lithologically and compositionally there are three extreme types: (1) brecciated anorthosites with high Al₂O₃ (26–31%), low FeO (3–6%), and low incompatible elements (e.g., <1 μg/g Th), (2) basalts and brecciated basalts with high FeO (18–22%), moderately low Al₂O₃ (8–10%) and incompatible elements (0.4–2.1 μg/g Th), and (3) an impact-melt breccia of noritic composition (16% Al₂O₃, 11% FeO) with very high concentrations of incompatible elements (33 μg/g Th), a lithology that is identified as KREEP on the basis of its similarity to Apollo samples of that designation. Several meteorites are polymict breccias of intermediate composition because they contain both anorthosite and basalt. Despite the large range in compositions, a variety of compositional parameters together distinguish lunar meteorites from terrestrial materials. Compositional and petrographic data for lunar meteorites, when combined with mineralogical and compositional data obtained from orbiting spacecraft in the 1990s, suggest that Apollo samples identified with the magnesian (Mg-rich) suite of nonmare rocks (norite, troctolite, dunite, alkali anorthosite, and KREEP) are all products of a small, geochemically anomalous (noritic, high Th) region of crust known as the Procellarum KREEP Terrane and are not, as generally assumed, indigenous to the vast expanse of typical feldspathic crust known as the Feldspathic Highlands Terrane. Magnesian-suite rocks such as those of the Apollo collection do not occur as clasts in the feldspathic lunar meteorites. The misconception is a consequence of four historical factors: (1) the Moon has long been viewed as simply bimodal in geology, mare or highlands, (2) one of the last, large basin-forming bolides impacted in the Procellarum KREEP Terrane, dispersing Th-rich material, (3) although it was not known at the time, the Apollo missions all landed in or near the anomalous Procellarum KREEP Terrane and collected many Th-rich samples formed therein, and (4) the Apollo samples were interpreted and models for lunar crust formation developed without recognition of the anomaly because global data provided by orbiting missions and lunar meteorites were obtained only years later.     

月表构造与深部构造的关系

地球和月球很可能是通过大撞击形成的。在行星地质学中,研究月球的地质-构造现象,对了解月球、地球乃至太阳系的形成与演化历史都有很大帮助。月球的构造分为深部构造与月表构造,寻找它们在分布或成因上的关系,可以为月球甚至地月系的起源和演化历史提供重要参考。利用LROC的宽视角影像数据以及LOLA数据提取解译月表构造,结合深大断裂进行观察分析,并对月球的撞击盆地进行统计,最后以静海地区为例分析构造分布特征,发现月球的质量瘤盆地中具有环状分布的月岭,外侧具有近环状分布的深大断裂,自前酒海纪至酒海纪,具备上述特征的质量瘤盆地占总撞击盆地的比例突然有一个很大的提升,且静海地区西部具有该构造分布特征。推测该特征与撞击、月海沉降等有关,且在酒海纪与雨海纪期间月球有较多的月海玄武岩分布,由此判断静海西部存在质量瘤,发生过撞击与月海沉降。     

On the elusive isotopic composition of lunar Pb

Highly radiogenic Pb isotope compositions determined for volcanic glass beads from the Apollo 14 soil sample 14163 are similar to those commonly determined for mare basalts and are correlated with chemical variations observed in the beads. This indicates that Pb unsupported by in-situ U decay has a similar origin in both glass beads and mare basalt samples and is likely to reflect variations of ²³⁸U/²⁰⁴Pb (μ) in the lunar mantle. An alternative explanation that this Pb is a result of late equilibration with the radiogenic Pb present in soil is less likely as it would imply that all other characteristics of glass beads such as their chemistry must also be a consequence of equilibration near the lunar surface. Regardless of the origin of unsupported Pb, observed variations of Pb isotope compositions in the glass beads and mare basalts appear to be a result of two component mixing between a primitive reservoir with a μ-value similar to the Earth’s mantle and KREEP with a μ-value in excess of several thousand. This range cannot be explained by the fractionation of major rock forming minerals from the crystallising Lunar Magma Ocean and instead requires substantial extraction of sulphide late in the crystallisation sequence. The proportion of sulphide required to produce the inferred range places limits on the starting μ of the Moon prior to differentiation, demanding a relatively high value of about 100-200. Low μ indicated by several basalt samples and previously analysed volcanic glass beads can be explained by the preservation of an early (but post Ferroan Anorthosite) sulphide rich reservoir in the lunar mantle, while a complete range of Pb isotope compositions observed in the glass beads and mare basalts can be interpreted as mixing between this sulphide rich reservoir and KREEP.     

Early crustal building processes on the moon: Models for the petrogenesis of the magnesian suite

The plutonic rocks of the magnesian suite (Mg-suite) represent the period of lunar basaltic magmatism and crustal growth (∼4.46 to 4.1 Ga) that immediately followed the initial differentiation of the Moon by magma ocean (LMO) formation and crystallization. The volume and distribution of the Mg-suite and its petrogenetic relationship to latter stages of lunar magmatism (mare basalts) remains obscure. These plutonic rocks exhibit a range of compositions and include ultramafics, troctolites, spinel troctolites, norites, and gabbronorites. A distinguishing characteristic of this suite is that they contain some of the most magnesium-rich phases (Fo_95-90) that had crystallized from lunar magmas, yet they also are significantly enriched in an incompatible element component referred to as KREEP (a late-stage product of LMO crystallization containing abundant potassium (K), rare earth elements (REE), phosphorous (P), uranium, and thorium). Ion microprobe analyses of individual mineral phases (olivine, pyroxene, and plagioclase) from the Mg-suite have shown some very unexpected characteristics that have profound implications on the origin of these basaltic magmas. Although the Mg-suite lithologies are typified by silicates with relatively high Mg′, early liquidus phases such as olivine are fairly low in Ni, Co, and Cr relative to more iron-rich olivines in the younger mare basalts. The high Y and Ti/Y in early phases such as olivine and orthopyroxene indicate that the parental basaltic melts were high in incompatible elements and contained an “ilmenite fractionation” signature. However, the Y in olivine from many of the troctolites and ultramafic lithologies are only slightly greater than that of the olivine in the mare basalts whereas olivine in the norites, gabbronorites, and Apollo 14 troctolites are exceedingly high. The KREEP component may have been added to the Mg-suite parent magmas by assimilation or mixing into the mantle source. The volume of KREEP required to be added to the parental magmas of the Mg-suite tends to favor the latter mechanism for KREEP incorporation. The extremely high abundances of KREEP in the norites and gabbronorites are a product of substantial crystallization (40% to 70%) of KREEP-enriched Mg-suite parental magmas. Basaltic magmatism associated with KREEP extended for over 1.5 billion years and appears to have changed over time. The early stages of this style of lunar magmatism (Mg-suite) appear to represent melting of early LMO cumulates with low abundances of Ni, Co, Cr, and V. Later stages of KREEP-rich basaltic magmatism seemed to clearly involve melting of a variety of LMO cumulate assemblages with higher incompatible element enrichment. It appears that the heat derived from the KREEP component was instrumental in at least initiating melting of the lunar mantle over this period of time.     

The lunar crust: a product of heterogeneous accretion or differentiation of a homogeneous Moon?

The outer portion of the Moon including the Al-rich crust and the source regions of mare basalts was either accreted heterogeneously or was the product of widespread differentiation of an originally homogeneous source. A number of constraints make the heterogeneous accretion model unlikely; the differentiation model appears more plausible.If the differentiation model is correct, a series of cumulate rocks complimentary to the Al-rich crustal rocks must exist. The mare basalts may have been derived from such a complimentary cumulate for several reasons. For example, Philpottset al. (1973) on the basis of REE studies, suggest that Apollo 11 and 17 mare basalts were formed by partial melting of a cumulate rich in a phase(s) containing high Ti and heavy REE. The high Ti of Apollo 11 and 17 basalts is not readily explained in terms of partial melting of an undifferentiated mantle, but is consistent with partial melting of a pyroxene cumulate enriched in Fe, Ti oxides. The characteristic Fe-rich nature of mare basalts would be partly a consequence of melting of oxide cumulate minerals. It is postulated that the plagioclase-poor source region of mare basalts was enriched in an intercumulus residual liquid. During the partial melting that produced mare basalts, this material was largely incorporated into the melt, thus explaining the ancient model ages observed in most mare basalts. If the cumulate model is correct, then samples derived from the true (undifferentiated) lunar mantle have not been identified.     

月球的地体构造与起源模式

按照月球表面物质成分分布的特点,月壳可以划分为三个主要的化学地体:1)风暴洋克里普地体(PKT);2)斜长质高地地体(FHT);3)南极爱特肯地体(SPAT),综合对比天体化学和固体地球科学研究的前缘和热点,本文建立了月球地体构造及其起源的星子堆积模式,对月球化学分布的不均匀性的起因给出了较为简单和合理的解释.     

Crustal evolution of the early earth: The role of major impacts

Impact cratering was an important — even dominant — process affecting the crustal evolution of the small terrestrial planets. The fundamental highlands/maria dichotomy of the Moon's surface can be traced to a late heavy bombardment by basin-forming, asteroid-sized bodies which produced not only a topographic division in the lunar crust but also localized the later eruptions of mare basalts. Major impact basins with diameters in excess of 200 km are recognized throughout the inner solar system from Mars to Mercury. Similar craters must have formed on the Earth prior to 4 Ga ago, and the minimum number of such basin-forming impacts can be calculated by scaling from the observed (minimum) number preserved on the Moon. When allowance is made for differences in impact velocity, gravitational cross-section and the effects of gravity on crater diameter, it is found that at least 50% of a presumed global sialic crust would have been converted into impact basins by 4 Ga ago. Among the effects resulting from the impact of an asteroidal object on the early crust were: (a) establishment of a topographic dichotmy of 3–4 km (after isostatic adjustment), (b) pressure-release partial melting of the upper mantle and rapid flooding of the basin floor by basalt, and (c) enhancement of thermal gradients in the sub-basin lithosphere and upper asthenosphere. Comparative planetary data such as impact scaling can be used as important constraints on models of the early terrestrial crust. For example, the topography resulting from impact bombardment produced discrete oceans and dry land by 4 Ga ago, making unreasonable models of a globe-encircling ocean on the Earth after that time.     

Oxygen and iron isotope constraints on near-surface fractionation effects and the composition of lunar mare basalt source regions

Oxygen and iron isotope analyses of low-Ti and high-Ti mare basalts are presented to constrain their petrogenesis and to assess stable isotope variations within lunar mantle sources. An internally-consistent dataset of oxygen isotope compositions of mare basalts encompasses five types of low-Ti basalts from the Apollo 12 and 15 missions and eight types of high-Ti basalts from the Apollo 11 and 17 missions. High-precision whole-rock δ¹⁸O values (referenced to VSMOW) of low-Ti and high-Ti basalts correlate with major-element compositions (Mg#, TiO₂, Al₂O₃). The observed oxygen isotope variations within low-Ti and high-Ti basalts are consistent with crystal fractionation and match the results of mass-balance models assuming equilibrium crystallization. Whole-rock δ⁵⁶Fe values (referenced to IRMM-014) of high-Ti and low-Ti basalts range from 0.134‰ to 0.217‰ and 0.038‰ to 0.104‰, respectively. Iron isotope compositions of both low-Ti and high-Ti basalts do not correlate with indices of crystal fractionation, possibly owing to small mineral-melt iron fractionation factors anticipated under lunar reducing conditions.The δ¹⁸O and δ⁵⁶Fe values of low-Ti and the least differentiated high-Ti mare basalts are negatively correlated, which reflects their different mantle source characteristics (e.g., the presence or absence of ilmenite). The average δ⁵⁶Fe values of low-Ti basalts (0.073 ± 0.018‰, n = 8) and high-Ti basalts (0.191 ± 0.020‰, n = 7) may directly record that of their parent mantle sources. Oxygen isotope compositions of mantle sources of low-Ti and high-Ti basalts are calculated using existing models of lunar magma ocean crystallization and mixing, the estimated equilibrium mantle olivine δ¹⁸O value, and equilibrium oxygen-fractionation between olivine and other mineral phases. The differences between the calculated whole-rock δ¹⁸O values for source regions, 5.57‰ for low-Ti and 5.30‰ for high-Ti mare basalt mantle source regions, are solely a function of the assumed source mineralogy. The oxygen and iron isotope compositions of lunar upper mantle can be approximated using these mantle source values. The δ¹⁸O and δ⁵⁶Fe values of the lunar upper mantle are estimated to be 5.5 ± 0.2‰ (2σ) and 0.085 ± 0.040‰ (2σ), respectively. The oxygen isotope composition of lunar upper mantle is identical to the current estimate of Earth’s upper mantle (5.5 ± 0.2‰), and the iron isotope composition of the lunar upper mantle overlaps within uncertainty of estimates for the terrestrial upper mantle (0.044 ± 0.030‰).     

嫦娥一号干涉成像光谱仪数据再校正与全月铁钛元素反演

月球表面的元素和物质成分分布是理解月球成岩与地质演化历史的重要线索。嫦娥一号干涉成像光谱仪(IIM)是我国首台月球探测成像光谱仪器,其获得的大量月球高光谱数据已成为我国未来探测月球成分与地质演化研究的宝贵基础数据。本文利用探月工程地面应用系统发布的IIM B版本2C级数据,开发出一套数据再定标流程,获得了较为可靠的月表相对反射率数据。我们在新校正数据的基础上开展月球表面FeO、TiO_2的反演建模,获得了全月FeO和TiO_2分布图,这些图件是进行月球地质填图的基础。校正数据反演的FeO和TiO_2分布与前人对Clementine UVVIS数据的反演结果相近,表明干涉成像光谱仪数据具有较大的应用潜力。高地的低铁岩石成分(一般小于8%)佐证了月球月壳形成的过程中的岩浆洋分异假说,而月海玄武岩的TiO_2成分变化范围较大(0~13%)则表明月海玄武岩来源于不同的月幔源区。根据嫦娥一号干涉成像光谱仪全月FeO分布图,可将月球表面物质类型总体划分为高地斜长岩和月海玄武岩,而根据TiO_2分布可以进一步将月海玄武岩划分为5种不同钛含量的玄武岩岩石类型。FeO和TiO_2在全月范围内的分布表明Apollo和Luna返回的月球样品不能够代表全月范围内的矿物成分多样性,月球岩浆演化历史比前人认为的要复杂。未来月球样品返回任务(如嫦娥五号)如能赴这些特殊地区进行取样,将很有可能返回重要的月球科学研究发现和成果。     

月球冷海玄武岩矿物成分研究

月海玄武岩的矿物组成反映了岩浆源区的化学成分以及岩石形成时的物理和化学环境,对月球热演化研究以及月球资源的开发利用都具有重要意义。本文选择延展范围长的冷海为研究区,基于月球矿物成像光谱仪(Moon Mineralogy Mapper,简称M3)数据研究其矿物的空间变化特征。综合利用光谱、地形、元素等多源遥感数据将冷海划分为25个地质单元。提取169条新鲜坑光谱曲线,获取吸收中心波长、波段面积比等光谱参数。通过光谱吸收特征分析,获得冷海玄武岩铁镁质矿物变化特征。东部冷海地层较老,铁镁质矿物主要为单斜辉石,辉石钙含量较月球样品单斜辉石钙偏低,与澄海以及雨海老的地层矿物组成类似。西部冷海和露湾的地质单元较为年轻,富含橄榄石。风暴洋和雨海年轻玄武岩的矿物也富含橄榄石。这种富含橄榄石、大面积分布的玄武岩反映了月球晚期热演化的独特性。尽管地理上冷海为一个独立的月海,其东西部玄武岩矿物组成的差异以及与其同位置周围月海矿物组成的类似性反映了冷海玄武岩源区与周围月海具有联系。     

Antarctic lunar meteorites Yamato-793169, Asuka-881757, MIL 05035, and MET 01210 (YAMM): Launch pairing and possible cryptomare origin

The Antarctic lunar meteorite Meteorite Hills (MET) 01210 is a polymict regolith breccia, dominantly composed of mare basalt components. One relatively large (2.7 × 4.7 mm) basalt clast in MET 01210 (MET basalt) shows remarkable mineralogical similarities to the lunar-meteorite crystalline mare basalts Yamato (Y)-793169, Asuka (A)-881757, and Miller Range (MIL) 05035. All four basalts have similar rock texture, mineral assemblage, mineral composition, pyroxene crystallization trend, and pyroxene exsolution lamellae. The estimated TiO₂ contents (∼2.0 wt%) of the MET basalt and MIL 05035 are close to the bulk-rock TiO₂ contents of Y-793169 and A-881757. These similarities suggest that Y-793169, A-881757, MIL 05035, and the MET basalt came from the same basalt flow, which we designate the YAMM basalt. The source-basalt pairing of the YAMM is also supported by their similar REE abundances, crystallization ages (approx. 3.8-3.9 Ga), and isotopic compositions (low U/Pb, low Rb/Sr, and high Sm/Nd). The pyroxene exsolution lamellae, which are unusually coarse (up to a few microns) by mare standards, imply a relatively slow cooling in an unusually thick lava and/or subsequent annealing within a cryptomare. Reported noble gas and CRE data with close launch ages (∼1 Ma) and ejection depths (deeper than several meters) among the four meteorites further indicate their simultaneous ejection from the moon. Despite the marginally close terrestrial ages, pairing in the conventional Earth-entry sense seems unlikely because of the remote recovery sites among the YAMM meteorites.The high abundance (68%) of mare components in MET 01210 estimated from a two-component mixing model calculation could have resulted from either lateral mixing at a mare-highland boundary or vertical mixing in a cryptomare. The proportion of mare materials in MET 01210 is greater than in Apollo core samples at the mare-highland boundary. The burial depth (>several meters deep) inferred from the lack of surface irradiation of MET 01210 exceeds the typical mare regolith thickness (a few meters). Thus, the source of the YAMM meteorites is likely a terrain of locally high mare-highland mixing within a cryptomare. We searched for a possible source crater of the YAMM meteorites within the well-defined cryptomare, based on the multiple constraints obtained from this study and published data. An unnamed 1.4 km-diameter crater (53°W, 44.5°S) on the floor of the Schickard crater is the most suitable source for the YAMM meteorites.The ²³⁸U/²⁰⁴Pb (μ) value of the YAMM basalts is extremely low, relative to those of the Apollo mare basalts, but comparable to those of the Luna 24 very low-Ti basalts. The low-μ source indicates a derivation from a less differentiated mantle with a lack of KREEP components. Although the chemical sources of materials and heat source of melting might be independent, the heat source that generated the source magma of the YAMM and Luna 24 basalts may not be related to KREEP, unlike the case of the Apollo basalts. The distinct chemical and isotopic compositions of mantle sources between the Apollo basalts and the YAMM/Lunar 24 basalts imply differences in mantle composition and thermal evolution between the Procellarum KREEP Terrane (PKT) and non-PKT regions of the nearside.     

REE characteristics and Nd isotopic compositions of Lunar pristine rocks：Implications for petrogenesis of pristine rocks and source regions

This paper compile the rare-earth elements and Nd isotope data for lunar pristine rocks from investiga-tions in recent years. Using these data, we compared the REE characteristics of lunar pristine rocks and Nd isotopic compositions of their source regions. Based on the Lunar Magma Ocean model, we then studied their formation and petrogenetic correlations of Mg suite, alkali suite, and KREEP, with especial emphasis on the importance of assimi-lation during early magmatism. And Nd isotopic compositions of mare basalt samples suggest that mantle sources of mare basalts should be heterogeneous, which has not yet been explained by several current models.