Central Massachusetts to the Taurus-Littrow Valley. A Crystal Chemical Examination of the Formation and Evolution of the Primordial Lunar Crust

Shearer, C. K.; Borg, L. E.; Simon, S.B.

doi:10.1130/abs/2020am-359716

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“…(1974) and Haggerty (1974), occur in high abundance in the Station 4 regolith and in “small‐to‐moderate” abundances in the other A‐17 regolith samples (Heiken & McKay, 1974). In general, little orange/black glass is found in 73002 as well, though several glass‐rich regolith breccia fragments have been reported (Shearer, Simon, Dottin, et al., 2023). In the 250–150 μm size fraction, all samples had between 2.6% and 6.9% glass (except for the 15.0–15.5 cm depth interval, which comprised only 18 total particles).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modal Petrology and Mineral Chemistry of the <1 mm Size Fraction of Lunar Regolith in Apollo 17 Drive Tube Section 73002

Simon,

Cato,

Shearer

2024

JGR Planets

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The Apollo 17 mission returned samples from the Taurus‐Littrow Valley of the Moon. Key features of the site are a basaltic valley floor partially enclosed by South Massif and North Massif mountains and the Sculptured Hills, which consist of feldspar‐rich highland lithologies. A recently opened soil core sampled an inferred landslide deposit at the base of South Massif. Study of a suite of polished grain mounts of six size fractions of <1 mm material from 14 depth intervals of the ∼18 cm soil column shows that all size fractions from the upper 5–6 cm are richer in agglutinates, an indicator of surface exposure, than the deeper material, which is among the most agglutinate‐poor Apollo 17 regolith reported. Regolith breccia, crystalline melt breccia, and noritic igneous rocks are the most abundant fragment types. Nonmare rock types found range from anorthosites to ultramafic rocks and include rare types such as dunites, pyroxenites, and granitic fragments rich in potassium feldspar and silica. Mare basalt, glasses, and agglutinates are minor components throughout. The observations are consistent with the deposition of the highland‐dominated material in a landslide, which did not preserve any previous stratigraphy, followed by in situ maturation, with only minor additions of mare lithologies from nearby basaltic regolith, due to the inefficiency of lateral transport on the Moon.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%