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.     

Feldspathic lunar meteorites Pecora Escarpment 02007 and Dhofar 489: Contamination of the surface of the lunar highlands by post-basin impacts

PCA (Pecora Escarpment) 02007 and Dhofar 489 are both meteorites from the feldspathic highlands of the Moon. PCA 02007 is a feldspathic breccia consisting of lithified regolith from the lunar surface. It has concentrations of both incompatible and siderophile elements that are at the high end of the ranges for feldspathic lunar meteorites. Dhofar 489 is a feldspathic breccia composed mainly of impact-melted material from an unknown depth beneath the regolith. Concentrations of incompatible and siderophile elements are the lowest among brecciated lunar meteorites. Among 19 known feldspathic lunar meteorites, all of which presumably originate from random locations in the highlands, concentrations of incompatible elements like Sm and Th tend to increase with those of siderophile elements like Ir. Feldspathic meteorites with high concentrations of both suites of elements are usually regolith breccias. Iridium derives mainly from micrometeorites that accumulate in the regolith with duration of surface exposure. Micrometeorites have low concentrations of incompatible elements, however, so the correlation must reflect a three-component system. We postulate that the correlation between Sm and Ir occurs because the surface of the Feldspathic Highlands Terrane has become increasingly contaminated with time in Sm-rich material from the Procellarum KREEP Terrane that has been redistributed across the lunar surface by impacts of moderate-sized, post-basin impacts. The most Sm-rich regolith breccias among feldspathic lunar meteorites are about 3× enriched compared to the most Sm-poor breccias, but this level of enrichment requires only a few percent Sm-rich material typical of the Procellarum KREEP Terrane. The meteorite data suggest that nowhere in the feldspathic highlands are the concentrations of K, rare earths, and Th measured by the Lunar Prospector mission at the surface representative of the underlying “bedrock;” all surfaces covered by old regolith (as opposed to fresh ejecta) are at least slightly contaminated. Dhofar 489 is one of 15 paired lunar-meteorite stones from Oman (total mass of meteorite: 1037 g). On the basis of its unusually high Mg/Fe ratio, the meteorite is likely to have originated from northern feldspathic highlands.     

Lunar surface geochemistry: Global concentrations of Th, K, and FeO as derived from lunar prospector and Clementine data

Accurate estimates of global concentrations of Th, K, and FeO have an important bearing on understanding the bulk chemistry and geologic evolution of the Moon. We present empirical ground-truth calibrations (transformations) for Lunar Prospector gamma-ray spectrometer data (K and Th) and a modified algorithm for deriving FeO concentrations from Clementine spectral reflectance data that incorporates an adjustment for TiO₂ content. The average composition of soil samples for individual landing sites is used as ground-truth for remotely sensed data. Among the Apollo and Luna sites, Apollo 12 and 14 provide controls for the incompatible-element-rich compositions, Apollo 16 and Luna 20 provide controls for the feldspathic and incompatible-element-poor compositions, and Apollo 11, 15, and 17, and Luna 16 and 24 provide controls for Fe-rich compositions. In addition to these Apollo and Luna sample data we include the composition of the feldspathic lunar meteorites as a proxy for the northern farside highlands to extend the range of the calibration points, thus providing an additional anorthositic end-member composition. These empirical ground-truth calibrations for Lunar Prospector Th and K provide self consistency between the existing derived data and lunar-sample data. Clementine spectral-reflectance data are used to construct a TiO₂-sensitive FeO calibration that yields higher FeO concentrations in areas of high-Fe, low-Ti, mare-basalt-rich surfaces than previous FeO algorithms. The data set so derived is consistent with known sample compositions and regolith mixing relationships.     

The geochemistry and provenance of Apollo 16 mafic glasses

The regolith of the Apollo 16 lunar landing site is composed mainly of feldspathic lithologies but mafic lithologies are also present. A large proportion of the mafic material occurs as glass. We determined the major element composition of 280 mafic glasses (>10 wt% FeO) from six different Apollo 16 soil samples. A small proportion (5%) of the glasses are of volcanic origin with picritic compositions. Most, however, are of impact origin. Approximately half of the mafic impact glasses are of basaltic composition and half are of noritic composition with high concentrations of incompatible elements. A small fraction have compositions consistent with impact mixtures of mare material and material of the feldspathic highlands. On the basis of major-element chemistry, we identified six mafic glass groups: VLT picritic glass, low-Ti basaltic glass, high-Ti basaltic glass, high-Al basaltic glass, KREEPy glass, and basaltic-andesite glass. These glass groups encompass 60% of the total mafic glasses studied. Trace-element analyses by secondary ion mass spectroscopy for representative examples of each glass group (31 total analyses) support the major-element classifications and groupings. The lack of basaltic glass in Apollo 16 ancient regolith breccias, which provide snapshots of the Apollo 16 soil just after the infall of Imbrium ejecta, leads us to infer that most (if not all) of the basaltic glass was emplaced as ejecta from small- or moderate-sized impacts into the maria surrounding the Apollo 16 site after the Imbrium impact. The high-Ti basaltic glasses likely represent a new type of basalt from Mare Tranquillitatis, whereas the low-Ti and high-Al basaltic glasses possibly represent the composition of the basalts in Mare Nectaris. Both the low-Ti and high-Al basaltic glasses are enriched in light-REEs, which hints at the presence of a KREEP-bearing source region beneath Mare Nectaris. The basaltic andesite glasses have compositions that are siliceous, ferroan, alkali-rich, and moderately titaniferous; they are unlike any previously recognized lunar lithology or glass group. Their likely provenance is within the Procellarum KREEP Terrane, but they are not found within the Apollo 16 ancient regolith breccias and therefore were likely deposited at the Apollo 16 site post-Imbrium. The basaltic-andesite glasses are the most ferroan variety of KREEP yet discovered.     

The variety of lithologies in the Yamato-86032 lunar meteorite: Implications for formation processes of the lunar crust

We performed a petrologic, mineralogical, geochemical, and isotopic study of several lithologies in the Y-86032 feldspathic breccia. This study leads us to conclude that Y-86032 likely originated on the lunar farside. Y-86032 is composed of several types of feldspathic clasts, granulitic breccias, and minor basaltic clasts set in a clastic matrix. We identify an “An97 anorthosite” that has An contents similar to those of nearside FANs. Mg′ (= molar Mg/(Mg + Fe) × 100) values vary significantly from ∼45 to ∼80 covering the ranges of both nearside FANs and the Mg′ gap between FANs and the Mg-suite. A light-gray feldspathic (LG) breccia making up ∼20% of the investigated slab (5.2 × 3.6 cm²) mainly consists of fragments of anorthosites (“An93 anorthosite”) more sodic than nearside FANs. LG also contains an augite-plagioclase clast which either could be genetically related to the An93 anorthosite or to slowly-cooled basaltic magma intruded into the precursor rock. The Na-rich nature of both An93 anorthosite and this clast indicates that the LG breccia was derived from a relatively Na-rich but incompatible-element-poor source. The Mg′ variation indicates that the “An97 anorthosite” is a genomict breccia of several types of primary anorthosites. Granulitic breccias in Y-86032 have relatively high Mg′ in mafic minerals. The highest Mg′ values in mafic minerals for the “An97 anorthosite” and granulitic breccias are similar to those of Mg-rich lithologies recently described in Dhofar 489. Basaltic clasts in the dark-gray matrix are aluminous, and the zoning trends of pyroxene are similar to those of VLT or LT basalts. The crystallization of these basaltic clasts pre-date the lithification age of the clastic matrix at ∼3.8 Ga. The low K contents of plagioclase in both the anorthositic and basaltic clasts and generally low incompatible element abundances in all the lithologies in Y-86032 indicate that KREEP was not involved during the formation of the precursor lithologies. This observation further suggests that urKREEP did not exist in the source regions of these igneous lithologies. All these facts support the idea that Y-86032 was derived from a region far distant from the PKT and that the lithic clasts and fragments are indigenous to that region. An An97 anorthositic clast studied here has distinct Sm-Nd isotopic systematics from those previously found for another An97 anorthositic clast and “An93 anorthosite”, and suggests either that An97 anorthosites come from isotopically diverse sources, or that the Sm-Nd isotopic systematics of this clast were reset ∼4.3 Ga ago. These lines of geochemical, isotopic, and petrologic evidence suggest that the lunar crust is geochemically more heterogeneous than previously thought.     

Apollo 12 revisited

We present compositional data for 358 lithic fragments (2-4-mm size range) and 15 soils (<1-mm fines) from regolith samples collected at the Apollo 12 site. The regolith is dominated by mare basalt, KREEP impact-melt breccias (crystalline and glassy), and regolith breccias. Minor components include alkali anorthosite, alkali norite, granite, quartz monzogabbro, and anorthositic rocks from the feldspathic highlands. The typical KREEP impact-melt breccia of Apollo 12 (mean Th: 16 μg/g) is similar to that of the Apollo 14 site (16 μg/g), 180 km away. Both contain a minor component (0.3% at Apollo 12, 0.6% at Apollo 14) of FeNi metal that is dissimilar to metal in ordinary chondrites but is similar to metal found in Apollo 16 impact-melt breccias. The Apollo 12 regolith contains another variety of KREEP impact-melt breccia that differs from any type of breccia described from the Apollo sites in being substantially richer in Th (30 μg/g) but with only moderate concentrations of K. It is, however, similar in composition to the melt breccia lithology in lunar meteorite Sayh al Uhaymir 169. The average composition of typical mature soil corresponds to a mixture of 65% mare basalt, 20% typical KREEP impact-melt breccia, 7% high-Th impact-melt breccia, 6% feldspathic material, 2.6% alkali noritic anorthosite, and 0.9% CM chondrite. Thus, although the site was resurfaced by basaltic volcanism 3.1-3.3 Ga ago, a third of the material in the present regolith is of nonmare origin, mainly in the form of KREEP impact-melt breccias and glass. These materials occur in the Apollo 12 regolith mainly as a result of moderate-sized impacts into surrounding Fra Mauro and Alpes Formations that formed craters Copernicus (93 km diameter, 406 km distance), Reinhold (48 km diameter, 196 km distance), and possibly Lansberg (39 km diameter, 108 km distance), aided by excavation of basalt interlayers and mixing of regolith by small, local impacts. Anomalous immature soil samples 12024, 12032, and 12033 contain a lesser proportion of mare basalt and a correspondingly greater proportion of KREEP lithologies. These samples consist mainly of fossil or paleoregolith, likely ejecta from Copernicus, that was buried beneath the mixing zone of micrometeorite gardening, and then brought to the near surface by local craters such as Head, Bench, and Sharp Craters.     

On the origin of impact glass in the Apollo 16 regolith

This study addresses the issue of what fraction of the impact glass in the regolith of a lunar landing site derives from local impacts (those within a few kilometers of the site) as opposed to distant impacts (10 or more kilometers away). Among 10,323 fragments from the 64-210-μm grain-size fraction of three Apollo 16 regolith samples, 14% are impact glasses, that is, fragments consisting wholly or largely of glass produced in a crater-forming impact. Another 16% are agglutinates formed by impacts of micrometeorites into regolith. We analyzed the glass in 1559 fragments for major- and minor-element concentrations by electron probe microanalysis and a subset of 112 of the fragments that are homogeneous impact glasses for trace elements by secondary ion mass spectrometry. Of the impact glasses, 75% are substantially different in composition from either the Apollo 16 regolith or any mixture of rocks of which the regolith is mainly composed. About 40% of the impact glasses are richer in Fe, Mg, and Ti, as well as K, P, and Sm, than are common rocks of the feldspathic highlands. These glasses must originate from craters in maria or the Procellarum KREEP Terrane. Of the feldspathic impact glasses, some are substantially more magnesian (greater MgO/FeO) or have substantially lower concentrations of incompatible elements than the regolith of the Apollo 16 site. Many of these, however, are in the range of feldspathic lunar meteorites, most of which derive from points in the feldspathic highlands distant from the Procellarum KREEP Terrane. These observations indicate that a significant proportion of the impact glass in the Apollo 16 regolith is from craters occurring 100 km or more from the landing site. In contrast, the composition of glass in agglutinates, on average, is similar to the composition of the Apollo 16 regolith, consistent with local origin.     

Aluminous enstatites of lunar meteorites and deep-seated lunar rocks

Fragments of aluminous enstatite from lunar meteorites of highland origin were investigated. It was found that such fragments usually occur in impact breccias of troctolitic composition. The aluminous enstatite contains up to 12 wt % Al₂O₃ and shows low CaO (<1 wt %) and almost constant high Mg/(Mg + Fe) ratio (89.5 ± 1.4 at %) identical to that of the Earth’s mantle. With respect to these parameters, the aluminous enstatites are distinctly different from common orthopyroxene of lunar rocks. The aluminous enstatite associates with spinel (pleonaste), olivine, anorthite (clinopyroxene was never found), and accessory minerals: rutile, Ti-Zr oxides, troilite, and Fe-Ni metal. The same assemblage was described in rare fragments of spinel cataclasites from the samples of the Apollo missions. Thermobarometry and the analysis of phase equilibria showed that the rocks hosting aluminous enstatite are of deep origin and occurred at depths from 25 km to 130–200 km at T from 800 to 1300°C, i.e., at least in the lower crust and, possibly, in the upper mantle of the Moon. These rocks could form individual plutons or dominate the composition of the lower crust. The most probable source of aluminous enstatite is troctolitic magnesian rocks and, especially, spinel troctolites with low Ca/Al and Ca/Si ratios. The decompression of such rocks must produce cordierite-bearing assemblages. The almost complete absence of such assemblages in the surficial rocks of lunar highlands implies that vertical tectonic movements were practically absent in the lunar crust. The transport of deep-seated materials to the lunar surface was probably related to impact events during the intense meteorite bombardments >3.9 Ga ago.     

Osmium isotope and highly siderophile element systematics of lunar impact melt breccias: Implications for the late accretion history of the Moon and Earth

To characterize the compositions of materials accreted to the Earth-Moon system between about 4.5 and 3.8 Ga, we have determined Os isotopic compositions and some highly siderophile element (HSE: Re, Os, Ir, Ru, Pt, and Pd) abundances in 48 subsamples of six lunar breccias. These are: Apollo 17 poikilitic melt breccias 72395 and 76215; Apollo 17 aphanitic melt breccias 73215 and 73255; Apollo 14 polymict breccia 14321; and lunar meteorite NWA482, a crystallized impact melt. Plots of Ir versus other HSE define excellent linear correlations, indicating that all data sets likely represent dominantly two-component mixtures of a low-HSE target, presumably endogenous component, and a high-HSE, presumably exogenous component. Linear regressions of these trends yield intercepts that are statistically indistinguishable from zero for all HSE, except for Ru and Pd in two samples. The slopes of the linear regressions are insensitive to target rock contributions of Ru and Pd of the magnitude observed; thus, the trendline slopes approximate the elemental ratios present in the impactor components contributed to these rocks. The ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os and regression-derived elemental ratios for the Apollo 17 aphanitic melt breccias and the lunar meteorite indicate that the impactor components in these samples have close affinities to chondritic meteorites. The HSE in the Apollo 17 aphanitic melt breccias, however, might partially or entirely reflect the HSE characteristics of HSE-rich granulitic breccia clasts that were incorporated in the impact melt at the time of its creation. In this case, the HSE characteristics of these rocks may reflect those of an impactor that predated the impact event that led to the creation of the melt breccias. The impactor components in the Apollo 17 poikilitic melt breccias and in the Apollo 14 breccia have higher ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os, Pt/Ir, and Ru/Ir and lower Os/Ir than most chondrites. These compositions suggest that the impactors they represent were chemically distinct from known chondrite types, and possibly represent a type of primitive material not currently delivered to Earth as meteorites.     

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.     

Mineralogy, geochemistry, and Ar-Ar geochronology of lunar granulitic breccia Northwest Africa 3163 and paired stones: Comparisons with Apollo samples

The lunar meteorites Northwest Africa (NWA) 3163, 4881, and 4483 are paired stones classified as granulitic breccias. At 2.4 kg, these three stones constitute one of the largest known lunar meteorite masses. Here we describe the petrography, mineralogy, and chemistry of NWA 3163, 4881, and 4483, and present ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar data for two of the meteorites. Two-pyroxene thermometry indicates that the rocks equilibrated at 1050 ± 50 °C, which represents the high-temperature, low-pressure event that generated their characteristic recrystallization textures and reset their Ar systematics. Stepped-heating, in situ infrared laser microprobe ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar geochronology yields a mean age of 3327 ± 29 Ma for NWA 3163, and a more disturbed release spectrum for NWA 4881. NWA 4881 shows an upward-trending pattern, suggesting that it may have had a ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar age of >3.0 Ga, but that it was partially reset at ∼2.6 Ga. NWA 3163 et al. exhibit shock effects, including maskelynitized plagioclase, shock veins, and melt pockets, which are absent in the Apollo granulitic breccias. Although the Apollo and meteorite samples are texturally similar and have comparable bulk compositions and equilibration temperatures, their trace and siderophile element contents point to distinct parental lithologies derived from different regions of the Moon. Based on mineralogical and geochemical differences between the Apollo and meteorite samples, we conclude that the parent rock(s) of the paired NWA meteorites came from an area outside the Imbrium region and that they underwent high-temperature (granulite event) metamorphism long after the Late Heavy Bombardment.     

A lunar differentiation model in light of new chemical data on Luna 20 and Apollo 16 soils

Fines from a Luna 20 soil sample and from three Apollo 16 deep drill core samples have been analyzed for major-minor element abundances by a combined, semi-micro atomic absorption spectrophotometric and colorimetric method. Both the major element and large ion lithophile trace element abundances in these soils, the first from interior highland sites, are greatly influenced by the very high normative plagioclase content, being distinctly richer in Al and Ca, and poorer in K, P, Cr, Mn, Fe, and Ti, than most bulk soil samples from previous lunar missions. The relatively large compositional variations in the Apollo 16 core can be ascribed almost entirely to decreasing plagioclase with increasing depth. The chemical composition of the Luna 20 soil indicates less plagioclase and less KREEP than in the Apollo 16 soils. A lunar differentiation model is presented in which is made the suggestion that KREEP is the result of a second fusion event in a lunar crust consisting of early feldspathic cumulates and primary aluminous ‘liquid’.     

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。     

Imbrium provenance for the Apollo 16 Descartes terrain: Argon ages and geochemistry of lunar breccias 67016 and 67455

In order to improve our understanding of impact history and surface geology on the Moon, we obtained ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar incremental heating age data and major + trace element compositions of anorthositic and melt breccia clasts from Apollo 16 feldspathic fragmental breccias 67016 and 67455. These breccias represent the Descartes terrain, a regional unit often proposed to be ejecta from the nearby Nectaris basin. The goal of this work is to better constrain the emplacement age and provenance of the Descartes breccias.Four anorthositic clasts from 67016 yielded well-defined ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar plateau ages ranging from 3842 ± 19 to 3875 ± 20 Ma. Replicate analyses of these clasts all agree within measurement error, with only slight evidence for either inheritance or younger disturbance. In contrast, fragment-laden melt breccia clasts from 67016 yielded apparent plateau ages of 4.0-4.2 Ga with indications of even older material (to 4.5 Ga) in the high-T fractions. Argon release spectra of the 67455 clasts are more variable with evidence for reheating at 2.0-2.5 Ga. We obtained plateau ages of 3801 ± 29 to 4012 ± 21 Ma for three anorthositic clasts, and 3987 ± 21 Ma for one melt breccia clast. The anorthositic clasts from these breccias and fragments extracted from North Ray crater regolith (Maurer et al., 1978) define a combined age of 3866 ± 9 Ma, which we interpret as the assembly age of the feldspathic fragmental breccia unit sampled at North Ray crater. Systematic variations in diagnostic trace element ratios (Sr/Ba, Ti/Sm, Sc/Sm) with incompatible element abundances show that ferroan anorthositic rocks and KREEP-bearing lithologies contributed to the clast population.The Descartes breccias likely were deposited as a coherent lithologic unit in a single event. Their regional distribution suggests emplacement as basin ejecta. An assembly age of 3866 ± 9 Ma would be identical with the accepted age of the Imbrium basin, and trace element compositions are consistent with a provenance in the Procellarum-KREEP Terrane. The combination of age and provenance constraints points toward deposition of the Descartes breccias as ejecta from the Imbrium basin rather than Nectaris. Diffusion modeling shows that the older apparent plateau ages of the melt brecia clasts plausibly result from incomplete degassing of ancient crust during emplacement of the Descartes breccias. Heating steps in the melt breccia clasts that approach the primary crystallization ages of lunar anorthosites show that earlier impact events did not completely outgas the upper crust.     

Feldspathic clasts in Yamato-86032: Remnants of the lunar crust with implications for its formation and impact history

Low concentrations of Th and Fe in the Yamato (Y)-86032 bulk meteorite support earlier suggestions that Y-86032 comes from a region of the moon far distant from the Procellarum KREEP Terrain (PKT), probably from the lunar farside. ³⁹Ar–⁴⁰Ar, Rb–Sr, Sm–Nd, and Sm-isotopic studies characterize the chronology of Y-86032 and its precursors in the mega regolith. One of the rock types present in a light gray breccia lithology is an anorthosite characterized by plagioclase with An 93, i.e., more sodic than lunar FANs, but with very low ⁸⁷Rb/⁸⁶Sr and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr similar to those of FANs. (FAN stands for Ferroan Anorthosite). This “An93 anorthosite” has Nd-isotopic systematics similar to those of nearside norites. A FAN-like “An97 anorthosite” is present in a second light-colored feldspathic breccia clast and has a more negative ε_Nd value consistent with residence in a LREE-enriched environment as would be provided by an early plagioclase flotation crust on the Lunar Magma Ocean (LMO). This result contrasts with generally positive values of ε_Nd for Apollo 16 FANs suggesting the possibility of assymetric development of the LMO. Other possible explanations for the dichotomy in ε_Nd values are advanced in the text. The Y-86032 protolith formed at least 4.43 ± 0.03 Ga ago as determined from a Sm–Nd isochron for mineral fragments from the breccia clast composed predominantly of An93 anorthosite and a second clast of more varied composition. We interpret the mineral fragments as being predominatly from a cogenetic rock suite. An ³⁹Ar–⁴⁰Ar age of 4.36–4.41 ± 0.035 Ga for a third clast composed predominantly of An97 anorthosite supports an old age for the protolith. Initial ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd in that clast was −0.64 ± 0.13 ε-units below ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd in reservoirs having chondritic Sm/Nd ratios, consistent with prior fractionation of mafic cumulates from the LMO. A maximum in the ³⁹Ar–⁴⁰Ar age spectrum of 4.23 ± 0.03 Ga for a second sample of the same feldspathic breccia clast probably reflects some diffusive ⁴⁰Ar loss. Lack of solar wind and lunar atmosphere implanted Ar in the light gray breccia clast allows determination of an ³⁹Ar/⁴⁰Ar age of 4.10 ± 0.02 Ga, which is interpreted as the time of initial brecciation of this litholgy. After correction for implanted lunar atmosphere ⁴⁰Ar, impact melt and dark regolith clasts give Ar ages of 3.8 ± 0.1 Ga implying melt formation and final breccia assembly 3.8 Ga ago. Some breccia lithologies were exposed to thermal neutron fluences of 2 × 10¹⁵ n/cm², only about 1% of the fluence experienced by some other lunar highlands meteorites. Other lithologies experienced neutron fluences of 1 × 10¹⁵ n/cm². Thus, Y-86032 spent most of the time following final brecciation deeply buried in the megaregolith. The neutron fluence data are consistent with cosmogenic ³⁸Ar_cos cosmic ray exposure ages of 10 Ma. Variations among differing lithologies in the amount of several regolith exposure indicators, including cosmogenic noble gas abundances, neutron capture induced variations in Sm isotopic abundances, and Ir contents, are consistent with a period of early (>3.8 Ga ago) lunar regolith exposure, subsequent deep burial at >5 m depth, and ejection from the moon 7–10 Ma ago.     

An experimental study of anorthosite dissolution in lunar picritic magmas: Implications for crustal assimilation processes

Experiments characterizing the kinetics of anorthosite dissolution in lunar picritic magmas (very low-Ti, low-Ti, and high-Ti picritic glasses) were conducted at 0.6 GPa and 1250-1400 °C using the dissolution couple method. Reaction between the anorthosite and lunar picritic magmas at 1250-1300 °C produced a spinel + melt layer. Reaction between the anorthosite and an olivine-saturated low-Ti magma at 1250-1300 °C produced a crystal-free region between the spinel + melt layer and the olivine-saturated magma. The anorthosite dissolution experiments conducted at 1400 °C simply dissolved anorthosite and did not result in a crystal-bearing region. The rate of anorthosite dissolution strongly depends on temperature and composition of the reacting melt. Concentration profiles that develop during anorthosite dissolution are nonlinear and extend from the picritic glass compositions to anorthite. These profiles feature a large and continuous variation in melt density and viscosity from the anorthosite-melt interface to the initial picritic magmas. In both the low-Ti and high-Ti magmas the diffusive fluxes of TiO₂, Al₂O₃, and SiO₂ are strongly coupled to the concentration gradients of CaO and FeO. Anorthosite dissolution may play an important role in producing the chemical variability of the lunar picritic magmas, the origin of spinel in the lunar basalts and picritic glasses, and the petrogenesis of the high-Al basalts.     

Ar/Ar dating of Apollo 12 regolith: Implications for the age of Copernicus and the source of nonmare materials

Twenty-one 2–4 mm rock samples from the Apollo 12 regolith were analyzed by the ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronological technique in order to further constrain the age and source of nonmare materials at the Apollo 12 site. Among the samples analyzed are: 2 felsites, 11 KREEP breccias, 4 mare-basalt-bearing KREEP breccias, 2 alkali anorthosites, 1 olivine-bearing impact-melt breccia, and 1 high-Th mare basalt. Most samples show some degree of degassing at 700–800 Ma, with minimum formation ages that range from 1.0 to 3.1 Ga. We estimate that this degassing event occurred at 782 ± 21 Ma and may have been caused by the Copernicus impact event, either by providing degassed material or by causing heating at the Apollo 12 site. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of two alkali anorthosite clasts yielded ages of 3.256 ± 0.022 Ga and 3.107 ± 0.058 Ga. We interpret these ages as the crystallization age of the rock and they represent the youngest age so far determined for a lunar anorthosite. The origin of these alkali anorthosite fragments is probably related to differentiation of shallow intrusives. Later impacts could have dispersed this material by lateral mixing or vertical mixing.     

The Luna 20 lithic fragments,and the composition and origin of the lunar highlands

Luna 20 soil 22003,1 (250–500 μ) is similar to Apollo 16 soil 61501,47 (250–500 μ) in terms of the percentage of different types of particles. However, among the lithic fragments, the Apollo 16 sample contains a greater percentage of fragments with more than 70 wt. % modal plagioclase and a significantly greater proportion of KREEP-rich particles. Modal analyses of non-mare lithic fragments in Luna 20 and Apollo 11, 14, 15 and 16 indicate that the KREEP-poor highland regions (the bulk of the lunar terrae), though relatively feldspathic, are compositionally inhomogeneous, ranging in plagioclase content from approximately 35 to 100 wt. %. The average plagioclase content lies in the range 45–70 wt.%. Luna 20 pyroxene analyses cluster in two groups, one more magnesian than the other. The groups persist when pyroxene analyses from KREEP-poor noritic, troctolitic and anorthositic lithic fragments from Apollo 11, 14, 15 and 16 and Luna 20 are included. Olivine compositions mimic these pyroxene groups.Within each pyroxene group Cr₂O₃ and TiO₂ decrease as $\text{Fe}\text{(Fe + Mg)}$ increases, suggesting a relationship by fractional crystallization. The two groups suggest that at least two magma compositions were involved. To account for these observations we envisage a Moon-wide magma system in which initial accretionary heterogeneities were imperfectly erased by diffusion and convection. During the cooling of this magma system fractional crystallization was effected by the flotation of plagioclase and sinking of pyroxene, olivine and perhaps ilmenite. The endproduct was an upper layer enriched in plagioclase and a lower layer enriched in mafic silicates. KREEP-rich rocks, which are predominantly noritic in major element composition, may be mechanical mixtures of KREEP-poor norite and material residual after fractional crystallization of the surface magma system.     

Heat-producing elements in the lunar mantle: Insights from ion microprobe analyses of lunar pyroclastic glasses

We provide new estimates for the abundance of heat-producing elements in the lunar mantle by using SIMS techniques to measure the concentrations of thorium and samarium in lunar pyroclastic glasses. Lunar pyroclastic glasses are utilized in this study because they represent quenched products of near-primary melts from the lunar mantle and as such, they provide compositional information about the mantle itself. Thorium and samarium were measured because: (1) Th is not significantly fractionated from Sm during partial melting of the pyroclastic glass source regions, which are dominated by olivine and pyroxene. Therefore, the Th/Sm ratios that we measure in the pyroclastic glasses reflect the Th/Sm ratio of the pyroclastic glass source regions. (2) Strong correlations between Th, U, and K on the Moon allow us to use measured Th concentrations to estimate the concentrations of U and K in the pyroclastic glasses. (3) Th, Sm, U, and K are radioactive elements and as such, their concentrations can be used to investigate heat production in the lunar mantle.The results from this study show that the lunar mantle is heterogeneous with respect to heat-producing elements and that there is evidence for mixing of a KREEP component into the source regions of some of the pyroclastic glasses. Because the source regions for many of the glasses are deep (?400 km), we propose that a KREEP component was transported to the deep lunar mantle. KREEP enriched sources produce 138% more heat than sources that do not contain KREEP and therefore, could have provided a source of heat for extended periods of nearside basaltic magmatism. Data from this study, in conjunction with models for the fractional crystallization of a lunar magma ocean, are used to show that the average lunar mantle contains 0.15 ppm Th, 0.54 ppm Sm, 0.039 ppm U, and 212 ppm K. This is a greater enrichment in radiogenic elements than some earlier estimates, suggesting a more prolonged impact of radiogenic heat on nearside basaltic volcanism.