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.     

Kinematic models for non‐coaxial granular materials. Part I: theory

The purpose of this paper is to present a physically based plasticity model for non‐coaxial granular materials. The model, which we shall call the double slip and rotation rate model (DSR² model), is a pair of kinematic equations governing the velocity field. The model is based on a discrete micro‐analysis of the kinematics of particles in contact, and is formulated by introducing a quantity called the averaged micro‐pure rotation rate (APR) into the unified plasticity model which was proposed by one of the authors. Our macro–micro mechanical analysis shows that the APR is a non‐linear function of, among other quantities, the macro‐rotation rate of the major principal axis of stress taken in the opposite sense. The requirement of energy dissipation used in the double‐sliding free‐rotating model appears to be unduly restrictive as a constitutive assumption in continuum models. In the DSR² model the APR tensor and the spin tensor are directly linked with non‐coaxiality of the stress and deformation rate tensors. We also propose a simplified plasticity model based on the DSR² model for a class of dilatant materials, and analyse its material stability. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Irradiation records in regolith materials. I: isotopic compositions of solar-wind neon and argon in single lunar mineral grains

We have applied a stepwise pyrolytic extraction technique to eleven individual lunar regolith grains to investigate the compositions of light noble gases embedded in grain surfaces by solar wind irradiation, with emphasis on the rather poorly known isotopic composition of solar-wind argon. Results are intriguing: average ²⁰Ne/²²Ne ratios observed in early pyrolytic releases from ilmenite grains separated from lunar soils 71501, 79035 and 10084 agree very well with both direct measures of the solar wind neon composition in the Apollo foils and with values obtained in first releases from acid-etched ilmenites by the Zürich laboratory, whereas these same pyrolytic and acid-etch fractions carry argon isotopic signatures that significantly disagree—average ³⁶Ar/³⁸Ar ratios near 5.8 for thermal extraction compared to 5.4–5.5 for chemical etching at Zürich. Consideration of the isotopic and elemental data from these grains in the context of first-order diffusive modeling calculations points to gas release at low temperatures, without significant isotopic or elemental fractionation, from isolated grain-surface reservoirs of solar wind composition. The physical nature of these reservoirs is presently unknown. In this interpretation the preferred solar wind ²⁰Ne/²²Ne and ²¹Ne/²²Ne ratios deduced from this study are respectively 13.81 ± 0.08 and 0.0333 ± 0.0003, both within error of the Zürich acid-etch values, and ³⁶Ar/³⁸Ar = 5.77 ± 0.08. It may be possible to reconcile the discrepancy between the acid-etch and pyrolytic estimates for the solar wind ³⁶Ar/³⁸Ar ratio in the context of arguments originally advanced by Benkert et al. (1993) to account for their He and Ne isotopic compositions. At the other, high-temperature end of the release profile from one of these grains there are clear isotopic indications of the presence of a Ne constituent with ²⁰Ne/²²Ne close to the 11.2 ratio found at Zürich and attributed by these workers to a deeply-sited component implanted by solar energetic particles.     

He implantation and concentrations in minerals and lunar regolith particles

Solar-wind erosion of rocks on the lunar surface and the implanting of solar-wind particles in minerals of lunar regolith are principally important processes of space weathering. The latter process leads to the accumulation of inert gases in mineral particles of lunar regolith. Literature data indicate that, depending on the composition and structure of the particles, the concentrations of implanted He in various minerals range within roughly three to four orders of magnitude. The lowest He implantation coefficient was determined in amorphous particles (glass), and very low implantation coefficients were also obtained in experiments on He implantation in glass (obsidian).     

Structural state of native molybdenum in the lunar regolith

The structural state was determined for zero-valence molybdenum in the lunar regolith. The body- and face-centered molybdenum forms (BCC and FCC, respectively) were identified. Disruption of the structure down to complete amorphization was noted. This might be caused by the long-term influence of the solar wind.     

Petrology of Luna 20 regolith from the lunar highlands

The Luna 20 regolith sample contains crystalline lithic fragments of mare basalt, the anorthosite-norite-troctolite group, and feldspathio basalt. Discrete mineral fragments and mineral fragments in regolith breccias can generally be assigned, based on chemical criteria, to one or the other of the first two rock types. A complex history is indicated for the regolith fragments involving repeated metamorphism and melting of the highlands due to impact events. The glass fragments and the feldspathic basalts probably are the result of this melting and their composition may be representative of a large portion of the regolith at this site.     

Mechanical characteristics of a lunar regolith simulant at low confining pressure

Manned lunar exploration has recently attracted renewed interest. This includes the NASA Constellation program to return humans to the Moon by 2020, the ESA Aurora program which may use the Moon as a way station to prepare for major interplanetary exploration by 2025, and the PRC program to send a human to the Moon by 2030 and build a temporary manned lunar base by 2040. One of the problems demanding a solution is the stresses on the mechanical characteristics of the lunar regolith under the microgravity environment. The gravity on the Moon is about 1/6 that on Earth. The regolith is subject to very low confining stresses under a microgravity environment and the mechanical properties can change correspondingly. Because of the limited amount of lunar regolith brought back to Earth by the Apollo missions, a lunar regolith simulant was developed using silicon carbide to investigate the properties of the lunar regolith. Based on triaxial tests, this study analyzed the mechanical properties of the lunar regolith simulant at low stresses including the shear strength, peak strength and dilatation angle. The research results provide useful information on lunar regolith characteristics for astronauts returning to the Moon and for building a temporary manned lunar base.     

The lunar regolith: Chemistry and petrology of Luna 24 grain size fractions

Chemical data are reported for the first time for lunar soil size fractions smaller then 2 μm. We report chemical data for 30 elements by INAA in eight size fractions (370−200, 200−94, 94−74, 74−40, 40−10, 10−5, 5−2 and <2 μm) and petrology of five size fractions (down to 40−10 μm) in two Luna 24 soils, 24176 and 24214. Consistent with our previous results for lunar soils, the compositions of coarser fractions (>10 μm) are quite similar to each other but quite different from the fine fractions (<10 μm). The finer fractions (10–5, 5–2, <2 μm) become increasingly feldspathic and enriched in large-ion lithophile elements (LILE) with decreasing grain size. Chemical data for the finer fractions provide direct evidence in favor of efficient comminution of rock mesostasis and feldspar leading to their preferential incorporation into the finer fractions. High concentrations of meteoritic indicator elements (Ni, Au, Ir) in the finer fractions are consistent with the comminution process by micrometeorite impacts. The chemical data strongly support the F³ (fusion of the finest fraction) model for agglutinate formation.Based on grain size distribution, petrology, and LILE patterns of size fractions, the Luna 24 soils are less reworked than most lunar soils. The Luna 24 regolith appears to have formed as a result of mixing more mature and fine grained material with less mature coarse material in different proportions at different depth intervals.     

Conditions of condensate rim formation on the surface of lunar regolith particles

Condensate objects observed in the lunar regolith are distinctly separated on the basis of morpho-logical and chemical characteristics into droplets condensed during the expansion of an impact-generated vapor cloud and films condensed on the relatively cold surface of mineral particles. Using the analyses of both condensate forms and experimental data on the evaporation of melt corresponding to a typical lunar highland rock of the gabbro-anorthosite composition from Apollo 16 sample 68415.40, the temperature conditions of vapor condensation during lunar impact events were estimated. The comparison of condensate compositions with the analyses of vapors from the evaporation experiment showed that, compared with the compositions of droplet-type condensates, the condensate rims were formed from a vapor with high contents of refractory CaO and Al₂O₃ and at very different condensation temperatures. The enrichment of vapor in CaO and Al₂O₃ could be attained only at high temperatures of melt evaporation (higher than ∼ 1850°C according to experimental data). The estimated condensation temperatures of droplets are significantly lower, ∼1750–1500°C. Rim-type condensates were produced by vapor quenching on the relatively cold surface of a solid mineral particle, which resulted in almost complete precipitation of all major components of the silicate vapor without fractionation in accordance with their individual volatilities.     

Microscopic contact model of lunar regolith for high efficiency discrete element analyses

The grains of lunar regolith are characterized with rough surfaces, angular shapes and mutual adhesions due to short-range interactions. These features control the macroscopic mechanical behavior of lunar regolith but have not been completely captured by contact models in previous Discrete Element Method (DEM) analyses. In this paper, a simplified two-dimensional microscopic contact model is proposed for high efficiency DEM analyses of lunar regolith. The model consists of three components in the normal, tangential and rolling directions respectively, plus two new parameters. A shape parameter is used to control the rolling resistance ability at the contact area between two particles to capture the features of grain shape and interlocking. The second parameter, micro-separation, which denotes the nominal minimum distance between the molecules of the two contacting particles, is introduced to account for van der Waals force as the major component of the short-range interactions that contribute to the adhesion of regolith grains in lunar environment conditions. The novel model has been implemented in a two-dimensional DEM code for numerical simulations of biaxial compression tests on lunar regolith. The effects of interparticle friction, grain shape, lunar environment conditions and void ratio on the strength of lunar regolith were numerically investigated. The results show that soils in the simulated lunar environment exhibit greater strength and more apparent strain-softening and shear dilatancy than on the Earth. The proposed model can capture the main features of the mechanical behavior of lunar regolith (apparent cohesion and high peak friction angle) and a wide range of strength indices can be obtained by the contact model.     

基于Hapke辐射传输模型的月壤光谱模拟

由于月球采样点较少,月壤真实数据稀缺,限制了对月球科学问题的进一步研究。较全面系统地采集月壤样品在近期很难完成,开展月壤光谱模拟工作是月壤实测光谱的必要有益补充,可以为研究月壤光谱特征提供大量数据。基于Hapke模型,我们选取RELAB光谱库的斜长石、单斜辉石、斜方辉石、橄榄石、单质铁、钛铁矿、火山玻璃、熔融玻璃等典型月壤矿物,运用牛顿插值和最小二乘优化的方法,模拟了LSCC月壤数据的一定粒径、单质铁含量、观测条件及矿物混合比例下的混合光谱。模拟光谱与实测光谱拟合较好,相关系数均大于0.99,均方根误差在10-3数量级;模拟矿物丰度与实测矿物丰度基本一致;模拟SMFe含量与相对成熟度指数Is/FeO线性关系明显;模拟粒径基本落在实测粒径组范围内。最后,文中讨论了光谱吸收中心波长、吸收面积等光谱特征参数的模拟精度,以及高精度模拟光谱时光学常数的计算方法。     

Light element geochemistry and spallogenesis in lunar rocks

The abundances and isotopic compositions of carbon, nitrogen and sulfur were measured in eleven lunar rocks. Samples were combusted sequentially at three temperatures to resolve terrestrial contamination from indigenous volatiles.Sulfur abundances in Apollo 16 highland rocks range from 73 to 1165 μg/g-whereas sulfur contents in Apollo 15 and 17 basalts range from 719 to 1455 μg/g and correlate with TiO₂ content. Lunar rocks as a group have a remarkably uniform sulfur isotopic composition, which may reflect the low oxygen fugacity of the basaltic magmas. Much of the range of reported δ³⁴S_cd values (?2 to + 2.5 permil) is caused by systematic analytical discrepancies between laboratories.Lunar rocks very likely contain less than 0.1 μg/g of nitrogen. The measured spallogenic production rate, 4.1 × 10^?6 μg ¹⁵N/g sample/m.y., agrees remarkably closely with previous estimates. An estimate which includes all available data is 3.7 × 10^?6 μg¹⁵N/g sample/m.y.Lunar basalts may contain no indigenous lunar carbon in excess of procedural blank levels (~0.7 μg/g). Highlands rocks consistently release about 1 to 5 μg/g of carbon in excess of blank levels, but this carbon might either derive from ancient meteoritic debris or be a mineralogie product of terrestrial weathering. The average measured spallogenic ¹³C production rate is 4.1 × 10^?6 μg¹³C/g sample/m.y. The ¹³C spallation exposure ages of rocks 15058 and 15499 are 184 and 135 m.y., respectively.     

Rb-Sr age of lunar igneous rocks 62295 and 14310

We report an age of crystallization for spinel-troctolite (VHA basalt) 62295 of 4.00 ± 0.06 × 10⁹ yr (I = 0.69956 ± 6) and an age of crystallization for KREEP-rich basalt 14310 of [3.94 ± 0.03 × 10⁹yr (I = 0.70041 ± 5). The ages probably date the cooling of shock melts.     

Noble gas investigations of lunar rocks 10017 and 10071

The noble gases He, Ne, Ar, Kr and Xe and also K and Ba were measured in the Apollo 11 igneous rocks 10017 and 10071, and in an ilmenite and two feldspar concentrates separated from rock 10071. Whole rock K/Ar ages of rocks 10017 and 10071 are (2350 ± 60) × 10⁶ yr and (2880 ± 60) × 10⁶ yr, respectively. The two feldspar concentrates of rock 10071 have distinctly higher ages: (3260 ± 60) × 10⁶ yr and (3350 ± 70) × 10⁶ yr. These ages are still 10 per cent lower than the Rb/Sr age obtained by Papanastassiouet al. (1970) and some Ar⁴⁰ diffusion loss must have occurred even in the relatively coarse-grained feldspar.The relative abundance patterns of spallation Ne, Ar, Kr and Xe are in agreement with the ratios predicted from meteoritic production rates. However, diffusion loss of spallation He³ is evident in the whole rock samples, and even more in the feldspar concentrates. The ilmenite shows little or no diffusion loss. The isotopic composition of spallation Kr and Xe is similar to the one observed in meteorites. Small, systematic differences in the spallation Kr spectra of rocks 10017 and 10071 are due to variations in the irradiation hardness (shielding). The Kr spallation spectra in the mineral concentrates are different from the whole rock spectra and also show individual variations, reflecting the differences in target element composition. The relative abundance of cosmic ray produced Xe¹³¹ differs by nearly 50 per cent in the two rocks. The other Xe isotopes show no variations of similar magnitude. The origin of the Xe¹³¹ yield variability is discussed.Kr⁸¹ was measured in all the samples investigated. The Kr⁸¹/Kr exposure ages of rocks 10017 and 10071 are (480 ± 25) × 10⁶ yr and (350 ± 15) × 10⁶ yr, respectively. Exposure ages derived from spallation Ne²¹, Ar³⁸, Kr⁸³ and Xe¹²⁶ are essentially in agreement with the Kr⁸¹/Kr ages. The age of rock 10071 might be somewhat low because of a possible recent exposure of our sample to solar flare particles.     

Genetic relations between meteorites and terrestrial and lunar rocks

According to their genesis, meteorites are classified into heliocentric (which originate from the asteroid belt) and planetocentric (which are fragments of the satellites of giant planets, including the Proto-Earth). Heliocentric meteorites (chondrites and primitive meteorites genetically related to them) used in this study as a characteristic of initial phases of the origin of the terrestrial planets. Synthesis of information on planetocentric meteorites (achondrites and iron meteorites) provides the basis for a model for the genesis of the satellites of giant planets and the Moon. The origin and primary layering of the Earth was initially analogously to that of planets of the HH chondritic type, as follows from similarities between the Earth’s primary crust and mantle and the chondrules of Fe-richest chondrites. The development of the Earth’s mantle and crust precluded its explosive breakup during the transition from its protoplanetary to planetary evolutionary stage, whereas chondritic planets underwent explosive breakup into asteroids. Lunar silicate rocks are poorer in Fe than achondrites, and this is explained in the model for the genesis of the Moon by the separation of a small metallic core, which sometime (at 3–4 Ga) induced the planet’s magnetic field. Iron from this core was involved into the generation of lunar depressions (lunar maria) filled with Fe- and Ti-rich rocks. In contrast to the parent planets of achondrites, the Moon has a olivine mantle, and this fact predetermined the isotopically heavier oxygen isotopic composition of lunar rocks. This effect also predetermined the specifics of the Earth’s rocks, whose oxygen became systematically isotopically heavier from the Precambrian to Paleozoic and Mesozoic in the course of olivinization of the peridotite mantle, a processes that formed the so-called roots of continents.     

Management and Maintenance of Forestry:A Catastrophic Stochastic Analysis

In this paper, we have carried out a detailedstochastic analysis of the Ludwig-Jones–Holling modelpertaining to the occasional population burst ofthe spruce budworms in the coniferous forests of Canada.Our analysis explains the abrupt burst of the populationin the form of cusp catastrophe. A qualitative recipe hasbeen suggested for avoiding the catastrophe.     

基于FDTD的月壤分层雷达探测正演模拟

“嫦娥三号”巡视器上搭载的测月雷达通过500 MHz频率的天线,对巡视路线上的月壳浅层结构进行剖面式观测,能探测到月球地底下30 m深土壤层的结构。为了更好地分析测月雷达的探测结果,文中对月壤分层进行正演模拟,月岩层的介电常数采用与“嫦娥三号”登月点位置最近的Apollo 15的电性参数近似代替,月壤的介电常数是一个和密度相关的值且随深度的变化而变化。根据以上参数建立模型,基于时域有限差分（FDTD）原理,利用GprMax对月壤分层结构进行模拟,建立的模型包括月表介电常数随深度变化二层模型和月岩层存在下界面三层模型,并对其波形特征进行分析,找到月壤层次划分的一般规律,对“嫦娥三号”测月雷达数据的分析提供理论依据。