40Ar-39Ar ages and trace element contents of Apollo 14 breccias; an interlaboratory cross-calibration of 40Ar-39Ar standards

Rare gas data are presented from step-wise heatings of lunar breccias 14066 and 14318 and from an interlaboratory cross-calibration of five standards used in ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar dating. Four samples of 14066 all show depressed ⁴⁰¹Ar/³⁹¹Ar ratios at high temperatures, thus making age interpretation uncertain. While different in detail, the Ar release patterns in the four samples yield indistinguishable plateau ages of $\text{3.93 ± 0.03}$ b.y. and > 400°C total ages of $\text{3.87 ± 0.06}$ b.y. Concentrations of K, Ca, Ba, Br, U and I are given for 14318 and 14066. We also present an updating of all of the ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar ages and trace element concentrations previously published by this laboratory.⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar dating standards from Menlo Park, Pasadena, Stony Brook, Toronto and Berkeley are calibrated against each other and the internal homogeneity of their ⁴⁰¹Ar/K ratios is tested. The Berkeley standard (from the St. Severin meteorite) has an age of $\text{4.504 ± 0.020}$ b.y. from this intercalibration.⁸⁰Kr from capture of lunar neutrons is detected in 14318. A comparison of the release pattern of the ⁸⁰Kr produced by lunar neutrons with the ^80,82Kr produced by pile neutrons in 14318, indicates that 14318 has lost approximately 35 per cent of the ⁸⁰Kr produced by lunar neutrons.