Introduction: Study of the Martian crust by orbital spectroscopy and SNC meteorites has so far only recognized subalkaline volcanic rocks. However, Spirit rover measured high alkalis and low silica in picritic basalts on the Gusev plains [1,2], allowing the possibility that alkaline differentiates might occur. Isolated rocks having mildly alkaline compositions and distinctive spectra have now b...

Long-lived heterogeneities in the mantle are indicated by Nd-Sr-Pb isotopic systematics. Explanations for these variations have invoked either distinct layers in the earth that are preferentially tapped by some source regions (such as plumes rising from the base of the mantle) or small-scale heterogeneities which are ubiquitously distributed through the mantle and tapped differentially in vario...

The reproductive capacities and development of the seed beetle Acanthoscelides macrophthalmus (Schaeffer) (Coleoptera: Bruchidae), found in Togo, were determined under natural conditions in a Guinean zone for its use as a substitute host for the mass rearing of the parasitoid Dinarmus basalts Rond (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae), a biological agent for the control of beetles that are pests of cowpe...

It has long been recognized that mare basalts on the Moon are preferentially located both on the Earth-facing hemisphere and within large impact basins. A popular model that accounts for this observation assumes that these magmas were denser than the lunar crust, that they accumulated at the crust^mantle interface, and that eruptions occurred only when this magma chamber became overpressurized....

Lunar meteorite EET 96008 is a fragmental breccia that predominantly consists of basaltic mineral clasts (0.5–2 mm), along with minor lithic fragments and breccia clasts. The matrix consists mainly of smaller mineral fragments ( 0.5 mm), bound by glassy cement, the majority of which are pyroxene and plagioclase. The pyroxene possesses extensive exsolution lamellae. These lamellae, up to 1 m in ...