Abstract. The transition processes from monogenetic volcanoes to composite are poorly understood. Late Pleistocene Holocene intraplate Wulanhada Volcanic Field (WVF) in northern China provides a snapshot of such transition. Here we present petrographic observations, mineral chemistry, bulk rock major and trace element data, thermobarometry, partial melting model for the WVF evaluate lithology d...

Introduction: Howardite-eucrite-diogenite (HED) meteorites belong to the largest group of achondrites and originate from protoplanet 4 Vesta. The surface of Vesta has been extensively affected by impacts which brecciated and mixed eucrite and diogenite material to produce a regolith and formed large basins in the south pole region [1]. Shock features preserved in meteorites due to high-velocity...

Introduction: Volcanism is the primary process in the solar system that creates the surfaces of the terrestrial planetary bodies. Volcanoes and volcanic surface units provide information about the geologic history of these bodies, which reflects the unique thermal and chemical evolution of each. Remote sensing provides an effective means to study these volcanic surface units in a quantitative w...

Introduction: The nakhlites are Martian igneous cumulate rocks [1]. Two nakhlites have been investigated in this study: Nakhla and MIL 03346. Texturally, these meteorites are dominated by elongate subhedral to euhedral augite with minor olivine and intercumulus mesostasis. A simple model for nakhlite petrogenesis involves a protracted, subsurface cooling history at oxidizing conditions followed...

Introduction: We present the first mineralogical and oxygen isotope data for the new eucrite Northwest Africa (NWA) 5073 that has some unique features. This meteorite is a desert find with a total mass of 185 g and represents a non-brecciated unequili-brated eucrite with the coarsest texture ever found among samples of the HED suite. Results: NWA 5073 has a basaltic texture, mainly composed of ...

Introduction: The meteorite Dhofar 026 (Dh26) was found in Oman in January, 2000 [1]. It is a clastpoor, anorthositic, crystalline melt breccia with no fusion crust and little terrestrial weathering. Solar wind abundance measurements show that it is unpaired with the lunar regolith breccia Dhofar 025 [2]. The Dh26 oxygen isotopic composition indicates its lunar origin [3], while its majorand tr...

Introduction: Crystallization ages of lunar impact melt rocks provide the primary evidence for a spike in the impact flux at ~3.9 Ga. Here we report U-Pb isotopic ages of accessory phases (apatite, zirconalite) in lunar melt breccia 67955 that confirm a crystallization age of ~4.2 Ga and reveal a younger overprint possibly related to entrainment of the breccia by one or more younger basins such...

Introduction. Plagioclase feldspar has been identified as the dominant mineral phase in the martian crust [1-2] through analysis of Mars Global Surveyor Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) data. Martian meteorites , samples of isolated terrain on Mars, contain plagioclase in abundances secondary only to pyroxene. Terrestrial basalts and andesites contain primary plagioclase that is calcic-inter...