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1.
Based on simple CIPW norms for the proposed terrestrial upper mantle material, it is shown that if the Moon fissioned from the Earth and gravitationally differentiated, it could have a 72 km thick anorthosite (An97) crust, a calcium poor (3.8% by weight) pyroxenite upper mantle 100 Mg/Mg + Fe = 75 to 80) ending at a depth of 313 km and a dunite (Fo93_95) lower mantle below a depth of 313 km. Refinements of these simple norm models, based on the cooling history, crystallization sequence and the variations of the 100 Mg/Mg + Fe ratio of the liquid and crystals during the crystallization sequence, indicate that the final form of such a Moon could have the following properties: (1) a primitive, cumulate anorthosite - minor troctolite crust with intrusive and extrusive feldspathic basalts and KREEP rich norites; the thickness of this crust would be 75 km; (2) a zone in the bottom of the crust and the top of the upper mantle which is rich in KREEP, the incompatible elements, silica, and possibly voltiles; this zone would be the source area for the upland feldspathic basalts, KREEP rich norites and KREEP and silica rich fluids; (3) an upper mantle between the depths of 75 km and 350 to 400 km which consists of peridotite containing 80–85% pyroxene (Wo10En68_72Fs18_22) and 15–20% olivine (Fo75_80); the Al2O3 content of the upper mantle is 3%; the peridotite layer would be the source area for mare basalts and; (4) a lower mantle below a depth of 350–400 km which consists of dunite (Fo93_97).The cooling history of such a moon indicates that the primitive anorthosite crust would have been completely formed within 108 yr after fission. The extrusion and intrusion of upland basalts and KREEP rich norites and the metamorphism of the crustal rocks via KREEP and silica rich fluids would have ended about 4 × 109 yr ago when cooling well below the solidus reached a depth of 150 km. As cooling continied, the only source of magmas after 4 × 109 yr ago would have been the peridotite upper mantle, i.e. the source area of the mare basalts. Extrusion of mare basalts ended when cooling below the solidus reached the top of the refractory dunite lower mantle 3-3.3 × 109 yr ago.Thus, it is shown that the chemistry, primary lithology, structure and developmental history of a fissioned Moon readily match those known for the real Moon. As such, the models presented in this paper strongly support the fission origin of the Moon.Guest Scientist, supported by the Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung.Permanent Address.  相似文献   

2.
It is shown that the mean value for the heat flow of a gravitationally-differentiated Moon of fission origin is about 13 erg cm?2 s?1 and that the heat flow varies regionally from about 3 erg cm?2s?1 to more than 45 erg cm?2s?1. These regional variations in the heat flow are caused by a non-uniform distribution of K, U and Th in the KREEP zone at the crust-upper mantle boundary and the redistribution of crustal materials and K, U and Th rich KREEP materials by basin-forming impacts. The scale of these regional variations is hundreds of km. The models presented are in accord with the Apollo 15 and 17 heat flow measurements.  相似文献   

3.
It is proposed that the primitive suite of upland rocks formed as a result of the cumulation of plagioclase which crystallized in disequilibrium from a convecting magma containing previously crystallized and co-crystallizing olivine and pyroxene. As the plagioclase was removed from this magma by flotation, it carried with it melt and mafic crystals in varying, but predictable proportions. This model successfully accounts for the major petrological characteristics of the upland suite of rocks, in particular, the reversed An vs Mg' trend, the quartz normative anorthosites and the olivine to pyroxene ratio variations vs plagioclase content of the rocks.It is shown that the crystallization sequence for the Moon is one where the pyroxenes of the peridotite upper mantle and crust were formed as a result of the reaction olivine + quartz (melt) pyroxene. This reaction occurred at depth (100–300 km) in the moon after the dunite lower mantle had formed, but while olivine was still crystallizing at the surface. As a result of this reaction, the crystallization of the last 20% of the Moon took place mainly along the olivine-plagioclase cotectic and not at the olivine-pyroxene-plagioclase peritectic as previously proposed. This crystallization sequence leads directly to an explanation of the fact that olivine rich rocks make up a significant fraction of the crust, despite the presence of a pyroxene dominated upper mantle directly below the crust. Also the reaction olivine + quartz (melt) pyroxene is exothermic and as such provided heat energy at the bottom of the magma system needed to set it into strong convective motion. As a result, the magma was kept stirred and the olivine and pyroxene in the cooling magma were kept in equilibrium with the melt, thus finally producing the relatively uniform peridotite of the upper mantle.A refined model for the distribution of U, Th and K in the crust of a pyroline moon is presented. It is demonstrated that the KREEP layer, which formed at the crust-upper mantle interface at the end of the crystallization of the Moon, was quickly destroyed by impact excavation and the upwards migration of the low melting KREEP materials. As a result of these processes the KREEP layer no longer exists in the Moon and all of its components are mixed in the crust. As a result, the crust contains about 80% of the heat producing U, Th and K of the Moon. The predicted values of the concentrations of U, Th and K in the crust based on this model are almost exactly those found for the average upland crust by the orbiting-ray experiment. This result not only strongly supports the models proposed in this paper but also supports the suggestion that the mean heat flow of the moon is 13–14 ergs/cm2/sec, i.e. that predicted for a Moon of fission origin in an earlier paper.The results and models presented in this paper further support the hypothesis that the Moon is a gravitationally differentiated body which originated by fission from a protoearth.Contribution No. 127, Institut für Geophysik, Kiel.  相似文献   

4.
A new multivariate statistical technique have been developed for detection of populations groupings in data arrays. General characteristics of the method are described. Results obtained analyzing lunar rocks and glasses are discussed. Lunar rocks lie in a genetically related sequence: pyroxenitic mantle materials produce mare type basalts; anorthositic rocks are the most distant members of the differentiation; noritic, hi-Ti and high KREEP basalts materials appear to be intermediate products. Lunar glasses parallel the overall behaviour of rocks, with some peculiar local characteristics. Granitic materials are present only as glasses, suggesting an origin as residuals. Links between several identified classes are discussed in terms of the evolution of the lunar crust.  相似文献   

5.
Several investigators have attempted, from studies of lithic fragments and/or glasses, to determine the types of rocks that constitute the parent materials of lunar highland soils. Comparing only major element data, and thus avoiding the problems induced by individual classifications, these data appear to converge on a relatively limited number of rock types. The highland soils are derived from a suite of highly feldspathic rocks comprising anorthositic gabbros (or norites), high alumina basalts, troctolites, and less abundant gabbroic (or noritic) anorthosites, anorthosites and KREEP basalts.  相似文献   

6.
Boulder 1, Station 2, Apollo 17 is a stratified boulder containing dark clasts and dark-rimmed light clasts set in a light-gray friable matrix. The gray to black clasts (GCBx and BCBx) are multigenerational, competent, high-grade metamorphic, and partially melted breccias. They contain a diverse suite of lithic clasts which are mainly ANT varieties, but include granites, basaltic-textured olivine basalts, troctolitic and spinel troctolitic basalts, and unusual lithologies such as KREEP norite, ilmenite (KREEP) microgabbro, and the Civet Cat norite, which is believed to be a plutonic differentiate. The GCBxs and BCBxs are variable in composition, averaging a moderately KREEPy olivine norite. The matrix consists of mineral fragments derived from the observed lithologies plus variable amounts of a component, unobserved as a clast-type, that approximates a KREEP basalt in composition, as well as mineral fragments of unknown derivation. The high-temperature GCBxs cooled substantially before their incorporation into the friable matrix of Boulder 1. The light friable matrix (LFBx) is texturally distinct from the competent breccia clasts and, apart from the abundant ANT clasts, contains clasts of a KREEPy basalt that is not observed in the competent breccias. The LFBx lacks such lithologies as the granites and the Civet Cat norite observed in the competent breccias and in detail is a distinct chemical as well as textural entity. We interpret the LFBx matrix as Serenitatis ejecta deposited in the South Massif, and the GCBx clasts as remnants of an ejecta blanket produced by an earlier impact. The source terrain for the Serenitatis impact consisted of the competent breccias, crustal ANT lithologies, and the KREEPy basalts, attesting to substantial lunar activity prior to the impact. The age of the older breccias suggests that the Serenitatis event is younger than 4.01±0.03 b.y.  相似文献   

7.
Nine U-Th-Pb whole-rock analyses of selected brecciated materials from sample 72215 and one analysis of a pigeonite basalt clast from 72275 are presented. Both samples are from Boulder 1, Apollo 17. These data supplement previous Boulder 1 U-Th-Pb analyses of samples 72275 and 72255. U and Th concentrations indicate that most of the samples contain a moderate to large KREEP component. Samples containing the least KREEP are a noritic clast (72255,49; Civet Cat clast) and an anorthositic clast (72275,117). Evidence for the migration of Pb from Pb-rich matrix material into relatively Pb-poor clasts is presented for two clasts. Most of the Boulder 1 data define a linear trend that intersects concordia at ～ 3.9 and 4.4 b.y. when plotted on a U-Pb concordia diagram. The presence of one anorthositic clast distinctly off this trend indicates that a simple two-stage U-Pb evolution history is inadequate to explain all the data. Accordingly physical significance is only attached to the lower concordia intercept age of 3.9–4.0 b.y. The older concordia intercept age of ～ 4.4 b.y. is interpreted to reflect an averaging of events both older and younger than 4.4 b.y. The data suggest that significant differentiation and/or metamorphism occurred ～ 4.2 b.y. ago. The age of this event, however, is not accurately defined by these data.  相似文献   

8.
Magma genesis in the Moon could have been significantly altered by large impacts if they melted solidified residual liquids and late cumulates from the ‘magma ocean’. Calculations of the heat required to melt these materials, under different assumed conditions, are compared to estimates of the total kinetic energy of the Imbrium impact. For a significant amount of these materials to have been melted, they must have been near their solidus temperatures, the impacts must have been very large, and the lunar lithosphere must have been locally heated at depths of 70 to 140 km. Unless the Imbrium impact released at least the maximum estimated kinetic energy, only larger impacts, e.g., the proposed ‘Gargantuan’ impact, could have augmented the intrinsic lunar heat budget enough to locally alter the abundance, timing of eruption, and chemical compositions of lunar magmas. The mechanical and thermal energy generated by such an impact could have been critical in creating (1) the higher concentrations of radioactive elements in the Imbrium/Procellarum area by migration of residual liquids driven by differential lithospheric thickness; and (2) hybrid mare basalts (representing varying proportions of late cumulates and/or residual liquids incorporated into primitive magmas rising from the partially molten lunar interior). Complete compositional spectra of lunar basalts are to be expected, from primitive mare basalts to pure KREEP and to Ti-rich varieties. Comparison of the Gargantuan/Imbrium area with ancient basins in the eastern nearside area suggests that the interplay between the Moon's internal heat engine and the timing of large impacts was a crucial factor in determining the time of tunar volcanism and the chemical composition of the lavas.  相似文献   

9.
Three types of meteoritic material are found on the Moon: micrometeorites, ancien planetesimal debris from the ‘early intense bombardment’, and debris of recent, crater-forming projectiles. Their amounts and compositions have been determined from trace element studies. The micrometeorite component is uniformly distributed over the entire lunar surface, but is seen most clearly in mare soils. It has a primitive, C1-chondrite-like composition, and comprises 1-1.5% of mature soils. Apparently it represents cometary debris. The mean annual influx rate is 2.4 × 10?9 g cm?2 yr?1. It shows no detectable time variation or dependence on selenographic position. The ancient component is seen in highland breccias and soils more than 3.9 AE old. It has a fractionated composition, with volatiles depleted relative to siderophiles. The abundance pattern does not match that of any known meteorite class. At least two varieties exist (LN and DN, with Ir/Au, Re/Au 0.25-0.5 and > 0.5 the C1 value). Both seem to represent the debris of planetesimals that produced the mare basins and highland craters during the first 700 Myr of the Moon's history. It appears that the LN and DN objects impacted at less then 10 km s?1, had diameters less than 100 km, contained more than 15% Fe, and were not internally differentiated. Both were depleted in volatiles; the LN objects also in refractories (Ir, Re). This makes it unlikely that the LN bodies served as important building blocks of the Moon. The crater-forming component has remained elusive. Only a possible hint of this component has been seen, in ejecta from Dune Crater and Apollo 12 KREEP glasses of Copernican (?) origin.  相似文献   

10.
The variations of the bulk composition of the silicate Moon (crust + mantle = Bulk Silicate Moon, BSM) depending on the thermal state are explored based on the joint inversion of gravitational, seismic, and petrologic data within the Na2O–TiO2–CaO–FeO–MgO–Al2O3–SiO2 system. The mantle bulk temperature Tmean determining the mineral composition and physical properties of the Moon is adopted as the integral characteristic of thermal state. By parameter Tmean, all thermal models of the Moon can be conventionally broken down into the “cold” with Tmean ~ 690–860°C and the “hot” with Tmean ~ 925–1075°C. The estimations of refractory oxide abundance in lunar rocks depending on the thermal state are included in two different groups. Cold models of BSM are comparable by the bulk content of Al2O3 ~ 3.0–4.6 wt % to those for the silicate Earth (Bulk Silicate Earth, BSE), while hot models of BSM are significantly enriched with Al2O3 ~ 5.1–7.3 wt % (Al2O3 ~ 1.2–1.7 × BSE) as compared with BSE. On the contrary, independent of the temperature distribution, both types of BSM models are characterized by nearly constant values of bulk concentrations of FeO ~ 12–13 wt % and magnesian number MG# 80–81.5 (MG# = [MgO/(MgO + FeO) × 100]), which differ markedly from those for BSE (FeO ~ 8% and MG# 89). It means that for all possible temperature distributions, the silicate fraction of the Moon is FeO-enriched and MgO-depleted in relation to BSE. These arguments discard the possibility of the Moon’s formation out of the material of the Earth’s primitive mantle. In spite of the almost complete coincidence of the isotopic systems, this apparently undeniable fact has no adequate explanation in the existing canonical models of the Moon’s origin and should result in additional constraints on the dynamic processes in models of the formation of the Earth–Moon system. However, the problem of the similarity of and/or difference between compositions of the Moon and the Earth regarding the abundance of refractory elements, which is very important for the geochemistry of the Moon and the Earth’s mantle, remains unresolved and requires further study.  相似文献   

11.
Density models for the Moon, including the effects of temperature and pressure, can satisfy the mass and moment of inertia of the Moon and the presence of a low density crust indicated by the seismic refraction results only if the lunar mantle is chemically or mineralogically inhomogeneous. IfC/MR 2 exceeds 0.400, the inferred density of the upper mantle must be greater than that of the lower mantle at similar conditions by at least 0.1 g cm–3 for any of the temperature profiles proposed for the lunar interior. The average mantle density lies between 3.4 and 3.5 g cm–3, though the density of the upper mantle may be greater. The suggested density inversion is gravitationally unstable, but the implied deviatoric stresses in the mantle need be no larger than those associated with lunar gravity anomalies. UsingC/MR 3=0.400 and the recent seismic evidence suggesting a thin, high density zone beneath the crust and a partially molten core, successful density models can be found for a range of temperature profiles. Temperature distributions as cool as several inferred from the lunar electrical conductivity profile would be excluded. The density and probable seismic velocity for the bulk of the mantle are consistent with a pyroxenite composition and a 100 MgO/(MgO+FeO) molecular ratio of less than 80.Communication presented at the Lunar Science Institute Conference on Geophysical and Geochemical Exploration of the Moon and Planets, January 10–12, 1973.  相似文献   

12.
We examine the propagation of Alfvén waves in the solar atmosphere. The principal theoretical virtues of this work are: (i) The full wave equation is solved without recourse to the small-wavelength eikonal approximation (ii) The background solar atmosphere is realistic, consisting of an HSRA/VAL representation of the photosphere and chromosphere, a 200 km thick transition region, a model for the upper transition region below a coronal hole (provided by R. Munro), and the Munro-Jackson model of a polar coronal hole. The principal results are:
  1. If the wave source is taken to be near the top of the convection zone, where n H = 5.2 × 1016 cm?3, and if B ⊙ = 10.5 G, then the wave Poynting flux exhibits a series of strong resonant peaks at periods downwards from 1.6 hr. The resonant frequencies are in the ratios of the zeroes of J 0, but depend on B ⊙, and on the density and scale height at the wave source. The longest period peaks may be the most important, because they are nearest to the supergranular periods and to the observed periods near 1 AU, and because they are the broadest in frequency.
  2. The Poynting flux in the resonant peaks can be large enough, i.e. P ⊙ ≈ 104–105 erg cm?2s?1, to strongly affect the solar wind.
  3. ¦δv¦ and ¦δB¦ also display resonant peaks.
  4. In the chromosphere and low corona, ¦δv ≈ 7–25 kms?1 and ¦δB¦ ≈0.3–1.0 G if P ⊙≈104-105 erg cm?2s?1.
  5. The dependences of ¦δv¦ and ¦δB¦ on height are reduced by finite wavelength effects, except near the wave source where they are enhanced.
  6. Near the base, ¦δB¦ ≈ 350–1200 G if P ⊙ ～- 104–105. This means that nonlinear effects may be important, and that some density and vertical velocity fluctuations may be associated with the Alfvén waves.
  7. Below the low corona most wave energy is kinetic, except near the base where it becomes mostly magnetic at the resonances.
  8. ?0 < δv 2 > v A or < δB 2 > v A/4π are not good estimators of the energy flux.
  9. The Alfvén wave pressure tensor will be important in the transition region only if the magnetic field diverges rapidly. But the Alfvén wave pressure can be important in the coronal hole.
  相似文献   

13.
It appears possible to establish a preliminary geological model for the origin and evolution of the breccias of Boulder 1 at Station 2 in the Valley of Taurus-Littrow based on firm and probable geological constraints. The crystallization of plagioclase and other ANT-suite phases now present as clasts appears to have occurred in the lunar crust about 4.5 b.y. ago during the ‘melted shell stage’ of lunar history as that history is presently modeled. The original rocks containing these phases, which now make up the gray competent breccias of Boulder 1, were greatly modified by impact processes during the ‘cratered highland stage’ and the early part of the ‘large basin stage’, up to about 4.0 b.y. ago. About 4.0 b.y. ago, pigeonite basalts with KREEP affinities appear to have been intruded into the pre-Serenitatis crust from which the light friable breccias of Boulder 1 were later derived. During the large basin stage, three major dynamic events profoundly influenced the present character of the Boulder 1 materials. These events probably occurred as follows: (1) formation of gray competent breccia containing ANT-suite clasts in the hot ejecta blanket of an old large basin event, such as Tranquillitatis, that took place about 4.0 b.y. ago; (2) rebrecciation and redeposition of the gray competent breccia, mixed with light friable breccia and pigeonite basalt, in a relatively cool ejecta deposit, possibly produced by the northern Serenitatis event; (3) uplift and exposure of the Boulder 1 materials in the South Massif by the southern Serenitatis event about 3.90 b.y. ago.  相似文献   

14.
Lunar electric fields,surface Potential and Associated Plasma Sheaths   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  
This paper reviews the electric field environment of the Moon. Lunar surface electric potentials are reported as follows: Solar Wind - Dayside: øo + 10 to + 18 V Solar Wind - Terminator: øo ç ? 10 to ? 100 V Electron and ion densities in the plasma sheath adjacent to each surface potential regime are evaluated and the corresponding Debye length estimated. The electric fields are then approximated by the surface potential over the Debye length. The results are: Solar Wind - Dayside: Eo ? 10 V m?1 outward Solar Wind - Terminator: Eo ç 1 to 10 V m?1 inward These fields are all at least 3 orders of magnitude higher than the pervasive solar wind electric field; however they are confined to within a few tens of meters of the lunar surface.  相似文献   

15.
In a series of previous papers, a petrological model for the Moon has been developed based on the assumption that the Moon is a globe of differentiated terrestrial mantle material which fissioned from the Earth. One of the major constraints which this model matches is the hypothesis that the lunar upper mantle is dominated by pyroxene. However, it has been recently shown that olivine is most probably the major constituent of the lunar upper mantle and that, at least that part of the Moon has a composition which is very similar to that of pyrolite - the proposed composition of the Earth's mantle. As a result of this new model constraint, the previously proposed differentiation scheme for a Moon of fission origin is reviewed and found to be inadequate, despite modification, for explaining the near pyrolite composition of the lunar upper mantle. As a result, a solidification sequence, which has been proposed to explain the rhythmic banding in terrestrial ultra mafic complexes, is investigated and found to be able to account for the high olivine content of the upper mantle, assuming a pyrolite composition for the Moon.  相似文献   

16.
The problem of the origin of the enigmatic tektites is still unsolved. The two leading hypotheses - viz., ejecta from terrestrial impacts, and ejecta from lunar volcanoes or lunar impacts, each encounters serious difficulties. The former has ballistic and water content difficulties, while the latter has some compositional difficulties, especially in the trace elements, as determined from the returned samples. It is possible that the latter problem may be met through lunar volcanic ejecta from sites suggesting more differentiation than the majority of the Moon. That such features may exist is suggested from the identity of some granitic material in the returned rocks and soil samples implying fairly sizable source regions on the Moon. The rare terrestrial strewn tektite fields require restrictive ballistic trajectories from the Moon. Calculations reveal that ellipses of varying, decreasing sizes which depend on velocity of vertical ejection from which ejecta will intersect the earth at low-entrance angles occur on the nearside of the Moon. Reasonable velocities were chosen (2.55 to 3.0 km s?1) and these ellipses circumscribe areas with longitudes between 30 and 50° east and latitudes between 7° north and south of the Moon's equator. These areas were searched for evidence of volcanism. As tektites have compositions ranging from acidic (major tektites) to basic (micro-tektites) contents of silica (SiO2) both acidic and basic volcanic features were sought. Since tektites range in age from about 30 million to 700000 yr old, they imply recent volcanism. Lunar Transient Phenomena (LTP) and data from various Apollo missions indicate that mild internal activity may still be occurring on the Moon. LTP sites are logical sources to investigate, of which four occur within the above delimited regions. These and their surroundings were examined and a number of possible explosive volcanism sites were found. These sites are identified and discussed after a review of the manifestations found from the various kinds of terrestrial volcanism for which lunar counterparts were sought.  相似文献   

17.
The eclipse observations were performed at the Laboratory of Radio Astronomy of the CrAO in Katsiveli with stationary instrumentation of the Solar Patrol at wavelengths of 10.5 and 12.0 cm. The data obtained were used to determine the brightness temperature of the undisturbed Sun at solar activity minimum between 11-year cycles 23 and 24: T d10.5 = (43.7 ± 0.5) × 103 K at 10.5 cm and T d12.0 = (51.8 ± 0.5) × 103 K at 12.0 cm. The radio brightness distribution above the limb group of sunspots NOAA 0866 was calculated. It shows that at both wavelengths the source consisted of a compact bright nucleus about 50 × 103 km in size with temperatures T b10.5 = 0.94 × 106 K and T b12.0 = 2.15 × 106 K located, respectively, at heights h 10.5 = 33.5 × 103 km and h 12.0 = 43.3 × 103 km above the sunspot and an extended halo with a temperature T b = (230–300) × 103 K stretching to a height of 157 × 103 km above the photosphere. The revealed spatial structure of the local source is consistent with the universally accepted assumption that the radiation from the bright part of the source is generated by electrons in the sunspot magnetic fields at the second-third cyclotron frequency harmonics and that the halo is the bremsstrahlung of thermal electrons in the coronal condensation forming an active region. According to the eclipse results, the electron density near the upper boundary of the condensation was N e ≈ 2.3 × 108 cm?3, while the optical depth was τ ≈ 0.1 at an electron temperature T e ≈ 106 K. Thus, the observations of the March 29, 2006 eclipse have allowed the height of the coronal condensation at solar activity minimum to be experimentally determined and the physical parameters of the plasma near its upper boundary to be estimated.  相似文献   

18.
An origin of the Moon by a Giant Impact is presently the most widely accepted theory of lunar origin. It is consistent with the major lunar observations: its exceptionally large size relative to the host planet, the high angular momentum of the Earth–Moon system, the extreme depletion of volatile elements, and the delayed accretion, quickly followed by the formation of a global crust and mantle.According to this theory, an impact on Earth of a Mars-sized body set the initial conditions for the formation and evolution of the Moon. The impact produced a protolunar cloud. Fast accretion of the Moon from the dense cloud ensured an effective transformation of gravitational energy into heat and widespread melting. A “Magma Ocean” of global dimensions formed, and upon cooling, an anorthositic crust and a mafic mantle were created by gravitational separation.Several 100 million years after lunar accretion, long-lived isotopes of K, U and Th had produced enough additional heat for inducing partial melting in the mantle; lava extruded into large basins and solidified as titanium-rich mare basalt. This delayed era of extrusive rock formation began about 3.9 Ga ago and may have lasted nearly 3 Ga.A relative crater count timescale was established and calibrated by radiometric dating (i.e., dating by use of radioactive decay) of rocks returned from six Apollo landing regions and three Luna landing spots. Fairly well calibrated are the periods ≈4 Ga to ≈3 Ga BP (before present) and ≈0.8 Ga BP to the present. Crater counting and orbital chemistry (derived from remote sensing in spectral domains ranging from γ- and x-rays to the infrared) have identified mare basalt surfaces in the Oceanus Procellarum that appear to be nearly as young as 1 Ga. Samples returned from this area are needed for narrowing the gap of 2 Ga in the calibrated timescale. The lunar timescale is not only used for reconstructing lunar evolution, but it serves also as a standard for chronologies of the terrestrial planets, including Mars and possibly early Earth.The Moon holds a historic record of Galactic cosmic-ray intensity, solar wind composition and fluxes and composition of solids of any size in the region of the terrestrial planets. Some of this record has been deciphered. Secular mixing of the Sun was constrained by determining 3He/4He of solar wind helium stored in lunar fines and ancient breccias. For checking the presumed constancy of the impact rate over the past ≈3.1 Ga, samples of the youngest mare basalts would be needed for determining their radiometric ages.Radiometric dating and stratigraphy has revealed that many of the large basins on the near side of the Moon were created by impacts about 4.1 to 3.8 Ga ago. The apparent clustering of ages called “Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB)” is thought to result from migration of planets several 100 million years after their accretion.The bombardment, unexpectedly late in solar system history, must have had a devastating effect on the atmosphere, hydrosphere and habitability on Earth during and following this epoch, but direct traces of this bombardment have been eradicated on our planet by plate tectonics. Indirect evidence about the course of bombardment during this epoch on Earth must therefore come from the lunar record, especially from additional data on the terminal phase of the LHB. For this purpose, documented samples are required for measuring precise radiometric ages of the Orientale Basin and the Nectaris and/or Fecunditatis Basins in order to compare these ages with the time of the earliest traces of life on Earth.A crater count chronology is presently being built up for planet Mars and its surface features. The chronology is based on the established lunar chronology whereby differences between the impact rates for Moon and Mars are derived from local fluxes and impact energies of projectiles. Direct calibration of the Martian chronology will have to come from radiometric ages and cosmic-ray exposure ages measured in samples returned from the planet.  相似文献   

19.
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20.
Abstract— Until recently, the SNC meteorites represented the only source of information about the chemistry and petrology of the Martian surface and mantle. The Mars Exploration Rovers have now analyzed rocks on the Martian surface, giving additional insight into the petrology and geochemistry of the planet. The Adirondack basalts, analyzed by the MER Spirit in Gusev crater, are olivine‐phyric basaltic rocks which have been suggested to represent liquids, and might therefore provide new insights into the chemistry of the Martian mantle. Experiments have been conducted on a synthetic Humphrey composition at upper mantle and crustal conditions to investigate whether this composition might represent a primary mantle‐derived melt. The Humphrey composition is multiply saturated at 12.5 kbar and 1375 °C with olivine and pigeonite; a primary anhydrous melt derived from a “chondritic” mantle would be expected to be saturated in orthopyroxene, not pigeonite. In addition, the olivine and pigeonite present at the multiple saturation are too ferroan to have been from a Martian mantle as is understood now. Therefore, it seems likely that the Humphrey composition does not represent a primary anhydrous melt from the Martian mantle, but was affected by mineral/melt fractionations at lower (crustal) pressures.  相似文献   

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