Tracking secular changes in the “water” content of lunar interior using basaltic lunar meteorites
نویسنده
چکیده
Lunar meteorites provide a wider sampling of the lunar surface compared to the samples collected during the Apollo and Luna Missions. Apatite is the main hydroxyl-bearing (proxy for water) mineral in lunar samples, especially in basaltic rocks. Apatite is also amenable to in-situ U-Pb age dating studies. The ages of lunar basaltic meteorites also span over a larger range compared to basaltic samples from Apollo and Luna collections. Thus, by determining the age, the H-content, and the H isotopic composition of apatites from lunar basaltic meteorites, it is possible to investigate any secular variation in the water contents of the lunar interior.
منابع مشابه
Abundance, Distribution, and Isotopic Composition of Water in the Moon as Revealed by Basaltic Lunar Meteorites
Introduction: Lunar meteorites arguably provide a wider sampling of the lunar surface compared to the samples collected during the Apollo and Luna Missions. Apatite is the main hydroxyl-bearing (proxy for water) mineral in lunar samples, especially in basaltic rocks. The ages of lunar basaltic meteorites also span a larger range compared to basaltic samples collected during Apollo and Luna miss...
متن کاملLunar Mare Basalts as Analogues for Martian Volcanic Compositions: Evidence from Visible, Near-ir, and Thermal Emission Spectroscopy
Introduction: The lunar mare basalts potentially provide a unique sample suite for understanding the nature of basalts on the martian surface. Our current knowledge of the mineralogical and chemical composition of the basaltic material on Mars comes from studies of the basaltic martian meteorites and from orbital and surface remote sensing observations. Petrographic observations of basaltic mar...
متن کاملMaskelynite in Basaltic Meteorites: an Indicator of Shock Pressure during Impact Ejection from Parent Bodies
Introduction: Basaltic rocks available for laboratory study include samples from the Earth, Moon, Mars and at least seven asteroids – the parent bodies of eu-crites (probably 4 Vesta), angrites, mesosiderites, and Shock Effects in Retrieved Lunar Rocks: None of the shock effects in Apollo samples were produced during launch of these rocks off the lunar surface. Consequently , most Apollo mare b...
متن کامل05035 and Meteorite Hills 01210 : Two Basaltic Lunar Meteorites
Introduction: The lunar meteorites Miller Range 05035 (MIL) and Meteorite Hills 01210 (MET) were collected during the 2005 and 2001 ANSMET (Antarctic Meteorite Search) field seasons [1,2]. MET is a 22.8 g regolith breccia composed primarily of basaltic material [3-6]. MIL is a 142.2 g coarse-grained basalt [2]. The bulk composition, mineral assemblage, and texture of MIL is similar to lunar met...
متن کاملPigeonholing Planetary Meteorites:
The last few years have provided two noteworthy examples of misclassifications of achondritic meteorites because the samples were new kinds of meteorites from planetary rather than asteroidal parent bodies. Basaltic lunar meteorite EET87521 was misclassified as a eucrite [1,2] and SNC (martian) orthopyroxenite ALH84001 was misclassified as a diogenite [3]. (Here a planetary body is one that rem...
متن کامل