Cosmic-ray exposure history at the Apollo 16 and other lunar sites: lunar surface dynamics

Concordant ⁸¹K-Kr exposure ages for four station 11 breccias indicate an age of 50.3 ± 0.8m.y. for North Ray Crater. Ray structures visible from orbital photography suggest that stations 8 and 9 should contain a substantial amount of South Ray ejecta. Concordant ⁸¹Kr-Kr exposure ages at these sites indicate an age for South Ray Crater of 2.04 ± 0.08m.y. Surface effects (tracks, surface angularities, and micro-crater populations) show good general agreement with this young an age, but discrepancies on a sample-by-sample basis seem to indicate that extensive pre-surface irradiations must have occurred. A detailed pre-surface exposure history is derived for the parent boulder of samples 69935 and 69955. It is suggested that secondary impacts play a major role in near-surface regolithic stirring. Widespread pre-surface irradiation would in fact be expected if most of the newly excavated material had been transported to the surface by secondary impacts rather than by the South Ray event itself.     

阿波罗月壤样品(E21)岩石学研究及溯源

中国科学院地质与地球物理研究所博物馆珍藏了一份阿波罗月壤样品（编号E21）,但具体来自哪一次任务返回样品并不清楚。为了对该样品进行溯源,本文开展了初步的岩石学研究。结果显示,该样品由玄武岩岩屑、角砾岩屑和玻璃珠组成,其中玄武岩岩屑的矿物组成、结构和成分与月海玄武岩高度相似,且钛铁矿含量（平均~14.8vol%）、全岩（平均~10.5% TiO₂）以及富Mg橄榄石的Ti含量（平均Ti~1000×10^-6）均显示为典型的高Ti玄武岩特征。结合较低的高地物质比例,以及部分玄武岩K₂O含量偏高的特点,可以推断E21号月壤来自阿波罗11任务返回样品。此次研究还发现两颗来自高地镁质岩套岩屑,全岩和矿物化学成分指示其为苏长岩。玄武岩岩屑的橄榄石微量元素特征表明,高Ti玄武岩的母岩浆具有较低的Ni、Cr和P含量,这一特征可能反映其源区物质相对亏损这些元素,或在形成过程中有低Ni、Cr组分混入。E21月壤对探究月球早期演化历史以及嫦娥五号月壤研究均有重要意义。

     

Trace element chemistry of Apollo 14 lunar soil from Fra Mauro

Analytical data are presented for Apollo 14 fines ( < 1 mm) sample 14163,136 for 31 trace elements. The heavy REE are enriched monotonically by factors of 105 ± 10 over chondrites. Eu shows a large depletion (30 × chondrites) and the light REE show a smooth progressive enrichment with a slight fall at La. Ba, Cs, Th, U, Nb, Zr and Hf are strongly enriched, relative to chondritic abundances. Thus the outer portions of the moon sampled by the Imbrium event, and now represented by the Fra Mauro Formation, possessed high concentrations (100–200 × chondrites) for many elements, prior to the excavation of the mare basins. A correlation may exist between Gd/Eu and Zr/Hf ratios in lunar materials.     

美国阿波罗月球样品的处理与保存

中国嫦娥工程三期将进行月球样品的采集与返回,这是继美国Apollo和前苏联Luna之后,国际上最新的月球样品返回计划。月球样品的存储与管理方法将成为中国探月工程中亟待解决的重要问题之一。特别是如何最大程度地保持月球样品的科学研究价值,避免或减少可能的样品污染等问题,不仅为工程部门所关心,也是月球科学家所极为关注的问题。文中主要回顾和总结了美国Apollo月球样品的处理与保存方法,包括月球样品实验室简况、月球样品初步处理方法、月球样品初步测试分析及相关实验简介和月球样品的保存方法等内容,以期为中国月球样品的返回和地面存储提供有益的借鉴。     

Surface history of some Apollo 17 lunar soils

Cosmic ray track densities in Apollo 17 soil samples are used to infer surface exposure times of soils from a trench at Van Serg Crater, from on and near a boulder at Camelot Crater, and from the position of the heat flow and neutron flux experiments (the ALSEP site). The topmost 2 cm of soil at Van Serg was exposed for 11 m.y., the top cm at Camelot for 36 m.y. A layering chronology and average deposition rate are proposed for the trench. For all soils the median track densities imply predispositional irradiation in the top 15 cm of the lunar surface for times that were long compared with the actual residence in the stratigraphic positions from which the soils were collected. Van Serg crater is inferred to have been formed approximately 24 m.y. ago.     

Trace elements in fines from the Apollo 15 deep drill

No systematic variations in concentrations with depth were found for 1O trace elements in samples from the Apollo 15 deep drill. Presence of a significant amount of KREEP is indicated.     

Isotopic composition of surface-correlated chromium in Apollo 16 lunar soils

We have analyzed by thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) the isotopic composition of Cr in five progressive etches of size-sorted plagioclase grains separated from lunar soils 60601 and 62281. Aliquots of the etch solutions were spiked for isotopic dilution (ID) analysis of Cr and Ca. The Ca ID data indicate that the initial etch steps represent dissolution of an average 0.1 to 0.2 μm depth from the grain surfaces, the approximate depth expected for implanted solar wind. The Cr/Ca ratio in the initial etches is several fold higher than that expected for bulk plagioclase composition, but in subsequent etches decreases to approach the bulk value. This indicates a source of Cr extrinsic to the plagioclase grains, surface-correlated and resident in the outermost fraction of a μm, which we provisionally identify as solar wind Cr. The surface-correlated Cr is isotopically anomalous and by conventional TIMS data reduction has approximately 1 permil excess ⁵⁴Cr and half as great excess ⁵³Cr. In successive etches, as the Cr/Ca ratio decreases and approaches the bulk plagioclase value, the magnitude of the apparent anomalies decreases approaching normal composition. If these results do indeed characterize the solar wind, then either the solar wind is enriched in Cr due to spallation in the solar atmosphere, or the Earth and the various parent bodies of the meteorites are isotopically distinct from the Sun and must have formed from slightly different mixes of presolar materials. Alternative interpretations include the possibility that the anomalous Cr is meteoritic rather than solar or that the observed (solar) Cr is normal except for a small admixture of spallation Cr generated on the Moon. We consider these latter possibilities less likely than the solar wind interpretation. However, they cannot be eliminated and remain working hypotheses.     

SIMS U-Pb study of zircon from Apollo 14 and 17 breccias: Implications for the evolution of lunar KREEP

We report the results of a SIMS U-Pb study of 112 zircons from breccia samples from the Apollo 14 and 17 landing sites. Zircon occurs in the breccia matrices as rounded, irregular shaped, broken and rarely euhedral grains and as constituent minerals in a variety of lithic clasts ranging in composition from ultra-mafic and mafic rocks to highly evolved granophyres. Crystallisation of zircon in magmatic rocks is governed by the zirconium saturation in the melt. As a consequence, the presence of zircon in mafic rocks on the Moon implies enrichment of their parent melts in the KREEP component. Our SIMS results show that the ages of zircons from mafic to ultramafic clasts range from ca. 4.35 Ga to ca. 4.00 Ga demonstrating multiple generations of KREEPy mafic and ultramafic magmas over this time period. Individual zircon clasts in breccia matrices have a similar age range to zircons in igneous clasts and all represent zircons that have been incorporated into the breccia from older parents. The age distributions of zircons from breccias from both the Apollo 14 and Apollo 17 landing sites are essentially identical in the range 4.35-4.20 Ga. However, whereas Apollo 14 zircons additionally show ages from 4.20 to 3.90 Ga, no zircons from Apollo 17 samples have primary ages less than ca. 4.20 Ga. Also, in contrast to previous suggestions that the magmatism in the lunar crust is continuous our results show that the zircon age distribution is uneven, with distinct peaks of magmatic activity at ca. 4.35 Ga, ca. 4.20 Ga in Apollo 14 and 17 and a possible third peak in zircons from Apollo 14 at ca. 4.00 Ga. To explain the differences in the zircon age distributions between the Apollo 14 and 17 landing sites we propose that episodes of KREEP magmatism were generated from a primary reservoir, and that this reservoir contracted over time towards the centre of Procellarum KREEP terrane. We attribute the peaks in KREEP magmatism to impact induced emplacement of KREEP magma from a primary mantle source or to a progressive thermal build-up in the mantle source until the temperature exceeds the threshold for generation of KREEP magma, which is transported into the crust by an unspecified possibly plume-like process.     

基于Diviner热红外数据的Apollo 15登陆区元素含量反演

月球元素含量的反演是了解月球物质成分的分布和月球矿产资源开发利用的依据。通过比较月球样品元素含量与不同粒径样品光谱CF值所建立模型的反演精度,确定10~20μm粒径样品最适用于月表元素含量反演。以Apollo 15登陆点附近为例,利用Diviner热红外数据得到了完整覆盖度和更高分辨率月球CF值影像,反演了月表Al、Fe、Mn、Mg和Ca元素相对含量。与月球样品实测值进行了对比,均方根误差均小于3,验证了利用红外数据反演月表元素相对含量的可行性,为月表元素含量反演提供了新的思路。     

High-pressure phase equilibria and element partitioning experiments on Apollo 15 green C picritic glass: Implications for the role of garnet in the deep lunar interior

We report results of nominally anhydrous near-liquidus experiments on a synthetic analog to very low-titanium Apollo 15 green C lunar picritic glass from ∼2 to 5 GPa. Apollo 15 green C glass (A15C) is saturated with garnet and pyroxene on the liquidus at ∼3 GPa. However, such an assemblage is unlikely to represent the lunar-mantle source region for this glass, and instead an olivine + orthopyroxene-dominated source is favored, in accord with earlier lower-pressure experiments on A15C. Near-liquidus garnet has a slight but significant majorite component at ∼5 GPa in this iron-rich bulk composition, as expected from our previous work in ordinary-chondritic bulk compositions. Ion microprobe measurements of partitioning of Sr, Ba, Sc, Nd, Sm, Dy, Yb, Y, Zr, Hf, and Th between garnet and coexisting melt in these experiments are the first garnet partition coefficients (D values) available that are directly relevant to lunar compositions. D values for these garnets differ significantly compared to D values for garnets grown in more magnesian, terrestrial bulk compositions, which until now are all that have been available in modeling the possible role of garnet in the lunar interior. For example, D values for heavy rare earth elements are lower than are those from terrestrial basaltic systems. These partitioning values are well-described by the lattice-strain partitioning model, but predictive relationships for garnet partitioning using that model fail to match the measured values, as was the case in our earlier work on chondritic compositions. Using our new D values in place of the “terrestrial” values in a variety of models of lunar petrogenesis, we suggest that garnet is unlikely to be present in the source regions for very titanium-poor lunar liquids despite its appearance on the liquidus of A15C.     

Pre-Tertiary blueschist terrains in the Hellenides: evidence from detrital minerals of flysch successions

Detrital blue amphiboles detected in flysch sandstones of the Hellenides of mainland Greece give important information on uplift and exhumation history of blueschist terrains. The occurrence of these HP/LT minerals in the terminal flysch of the Pindos zone as well as in the Othrys flysch of the Subpelagonian zone from late Maastrichtian/ Palaeocene time onwards proves a Pre-Tertiary (Eohellenic) stage of blueschist formation. Detrital blue amphiboles from flysch sequences of the Ionian zone indicate a further pulse of uplift of high-pressure rocks during the Palaeocene/Eocene. Blueschist rocks of this latter time range are radiometrically well documented in the Hellenides.     

基于光谱特征的月球岩性分类方法研究——以Apollo 16登月区域为例

利用NASA行星数据系统提供Apollo计划登月点采样线路影像数据,通过与嫦娥二号CCD数据、印度M~3数据空间校正获得采样路线坐标。开展嫦娥二号CCD数据与印度M~3数据MAP(后验概率)融合并选择Apollo 15、Apollo 16-62231的LSCC测得的标准岩石双向反射率光谱与M~3、嫦娥二号进行交叉定标。本文采用月球岩石光谱谱型全特征分析方法,选取涵盖Apollo计划登月获取的36个基站主要岩性87种、285件岩石样品,利用校正后的M~3数据分析月球典型岩石各阶吸收反射特征,建立月球典型岩石标准遥感影像光谱库,此后应用Apollo 623个岩石样品进行对比得到很好结果,同时完成Apollo 16登月点周围领域岩性分布图,并讨论了研究区的岩石成因,Apollo 16区域形成于高地大撞击,在早期的研究中已经被用于划分月球年代,本文方法对于月球岩石类别研究与理解月球的岩浆演化具有重要的研究价值。     

The growth of Early Proterozoic crust: new evidence from Svecofennian detrital zircons

Ion microprobe U-Pb analyses of zircons from the 1.9 Gyr old Svecofennian metasediments demonstrate the presence of both Archaean and early Proterozoic grains, whereas all conventional multi-grain analyses give apparent U-Pb ages of about 2.3 Gyr. Most zircons are 1.9–2.0 Gyr old suggesting that a major, still unknown early Proterozoic terrain older than 1.9 Ga supplied detritus to the early orogenic Svecofennian turbidites. These results imply that the formation of early Proterozoic felsic crust started c . 100 Myr earlier than has previously been inferred from isotopic data. Models in which Nd model ages of 2.1–2.4 Gyr have been interpreted as real crustal formation ages are not supported by our results.     

离子探针U-Pb体系研究识别阿波罗11号月壤及新发现

本文报道对中国科学院地质与地球物理研究所博物馆珍藏的一件阿波罗月壤样品（E21）进行的玄武岩岩屑定年工作。受限于岩屑大小,不能采用前人对阿波罗样品中大岩屑构建常规Pb-Pb等时线来定年的方法,我们采取了以单个含锆矿物（斜锆石、钙钛锆石和静海石）颗粒来限定玄武岩岩屑年龄的技术方案。首先通过μ-XRF的X射线的穿透性来遴选出具有含锆矿物的岩屑,再制作树脂样品靶后精细抛光,在扫描电镜下利用Zr元素的x-射线面分布图来定位暴露到表面的含锆矿物,再以离子探针3μm小束斑加Pb信号多接收的分析技术来获得Pb同位素组成以计算年龄。共识别出4个年龄组分的岩屑,分别为3570±14Ma、3700±8Ma、3850±5Ma和3900±12Ma。其中前三个年龄与前人报道的阿波罗11号月壤中玄武岩年龄分布一致,是判定该样品为阿波罗11号月壤样品的重要证据。~3900Ma岩屑为新发现组分,据长石成分An=93,辉石Mg^#~79判别为苏长岩。此外,根据主矿物Pb同位素分析,绝大多数玄武岩岩屑落在~3570Ma的Pb-Pb等时线上,指示该期次玄武岩为阿波罗11号采样区域最主要火山活动事件,这对于撞击坑统计定年曲线上的年龄选择给出了依据。

     

Volatile interactions with the lunar surface

The Moon is generally depleted in volatile elements and this depletion extends to the surface where the most abundant mineral, anorthite, features <6 ppm H₂O. Presumably the other nominally anhydrous minerals that dominate the mineral composition of the global surface—olivine and pyroxene—are similarly depleted in water and other volatiles. Thus the Moon is tabula rasa for the study of volatiles introduced in the wake of its origin. Since the formation of the last major basin (Orientale), volatiles from the solar wind, from impactors of all sizes, and from volatiles expelled from the interior during volcanic eruptions have all interacted with the lunar surface, leaving a volatile record that can be used to understand the processes that enable processing, transport, sequestration, and loss of volatiles from the lunar system. Recent discoveries have shown the lunar system to be complex, featuring emerging recognition of chemistry unanticipated from the Apollo era, confounding issues regarding transport of volatiles to the lunar poles, the role of the lunar regolith as a sink for volatiles, and the potential for active volatile dynamics in the polar cold traps. While much has been learned since the overturn of the “Moon is dry” paradigm by innovative sample and spacecraft measurements, the data point to a more complex lunar volatile environment than is currently perceived.     

准噶尔盆地基底的探讨：来自原泥盆纪卡拉麦里组砂岩碎屑锆石的证据

准噶尔盆地基底的属性和时代,长期以来一直是地质界激烈争论的问题。根据区域地质背景分析,准噶尔盆地东北缘卡拉麦里蛇绿岩带南侧出露的一套基本连续的、被置于中志留统-下石炭统的浅海相陆源碎屑沉积岩系的物源区,位于准噶尔盆地东部盆地堆积物之下。为此选择其中被1:20万区调置于中泥盆世卡拉麦里组上部层位的砂岩进行碎屑锆石SHRIMP U-Pb 定年研究,以期获得准噶尔盆地东部基底时代和属性的信息。测定的86颗碎屑锆石、89个点的年龄分布范围从(327±8)Ma 至(3073±10)Ma;其中碎屑锆石的表面年龄主要集中分布在320Ma～540Ma,显示出多峰的特征,其主峰为 365Ma,次要的峰分别为460～480Ma、510～520Ma 和530～540Ma。该样品中还含有至少22粒表面年龄大于550Ma 的碎屑锆石,其中550～690Ma 的碎屑锆石有4粒,827Ma～1083Ma 的碎屑锆石有8粒,1513Ma 和1700Ma 锆石各1粒,1942Ma～2051Ma 的锆石有2粒,2464～2490Ma 和2876Ma～3073Ma 的碎屑锆石各3粒。根据样品的岩石学特征和碎屑锆石的矿物学特征及表面年龄,结合区域岩浆活动的分析,我们获得如下初步结论:(1)所研究砂岩的沉积时代不是泥盆纪的,可能是早石炭世晚期,其源区位于准噶尔盆地东部;(2)源区地质体组成主体是奥陶纪至石炭纪活动陆缘岩浆岩,寒武纪至新元古代中期和新元古代早期至中元古代等时期的岩浆杂岩等组成,以及推测的少量早前寒武纪杂岩;表明准噶尔盆地东部的基底为奠基在前奥陶纪陆壳基底之上的古生代岛弧。     

Identifying impact events within the lunar cataclysm from Ar–Ar ages and compositions of Apollo 16 impact melt rocks

Lunar impact melt breccias provide a unique record of the timing and frequency of collisional events during the early history of the inner Solar System prior to the development of a significant rock record on Earth. The predominance of ages clustering between 3.8 and 4.0 Ga was a major, unexpected discovery obtained from geochronological studies of lunar impact melts, and is the basis of the concept that a cataclysmic bombardment of large planetesimals struck the Earth and Moon, and possibly the entire inner Solar System, about 3.85 ± 0.10 billion years ago. As a test of the cataclysm hypothesis, we measured high-resolution (20–50 steps) ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar age spectra on 25 samples of Apollo 16 impact melt breccias using a continuous laser heating system on sub-milligram fragments. Twenty-one of these 25 breccias produced multi-step plateaus that we interpret as crystallization ages, with 20 of these ages falling in the range 3.75–3.96 Ga. We propose that at least four different melt-producing impact events can be distinguished based on the ages, bulk compositions, and petrographic characteristics of Apollo 16 melt breccias. The recognition of multiple impact events within the Apollo 16 melt breccia suite shows that numerous impact events occurred on the lunar surface within a relatively narrow time interval, providing additional evidence of a heavy bombardment of the Moon during the early Archean.     

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.