Apollo 14 High-Al Basalts May Not Represent Earliest Volcanism on the Moon: The Enigma of Disturbed Sm-Nd and Undisturbed Rb-Sr Isotopic Systems

Details Apollo 14 High-Al Basalts May Not Represent Earliest Volcanism on the Moon: The Enigma of Disturbed Sm-Nd and Undisturbed Rb-Sr Isotopic Systems Apollo 14 High-Al Basalts May Not Represent Earliest Volcanism on the Moon: The Enigma of Disturbed Sm-Nd and Undisturbed Rb-Sr Isotopic Systems

Mar 1996

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1996lpi....27.1233s&link_type=abstract

Lunar and Planetary Science, volume 27, page 1233

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3

Basalt: Apollo 14 High-Aluminum, Isotopes: Rubidium-Strontium, Isotopes: Samarium-Neodymium, Mantle: Lunar, Melts: Impact

Scientific paper

Conventional wisdom is that high-Al mare basalts from the Apollo 14 landing site are the oldest known basalts from the Moon (as old as 4.3 Ga). As such, they represent the earliest melting of the lunar deep interior after solidification of the Moon-wide magma ocean. The samples analyzed previously have yielded Rb-Sr ages from 3.9 to 4.3 Ga and would indicate that they were coeval with KREEP basalt volcanism. Although the Rb-Sr systematics of these rocks yield well-defined ages, the Sm-Nd systematics of all but one of the samples indicate disturbance. These observations are in direct contrast to other lunar and terrestrial rocks which often show disturbance of the Rb-Sr systems, but yield well-defined Sm-Nd ages. It is our contention that the Rb-Sr ages may not be true crystallization ages, but may be indicating complete re-setting by an impact or other heating event. This heating event also could have involved mixing with highlands rocks. The disturbed Sm-Nd isotopic systems in these rocks are the indicators of this heating event which only partially reset the Sm-Nd "ages." Therefore, high-Al basalts may not represent the earliest volcanism on the Moon.

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