New interpretations of lunar mare basalt flow emplacement from XCT analysis of Apollo samples

Gawronska, A. J.; McLeod, Claire; Blumenfeld, E. H.; Hanna, R. D.; Zeigler, R. A.

doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2022.115216

Cited by 7 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 103 publications

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“…A similar structure is shown by horizontal vesicle sheets on the wall of the Rima Hadley 38 , near the sampling site of Apollo 15556. The vesicle shape and size, and the porosity of Apollo 15556 are consistent with it being derived within the vesicular zone near the top of a lava ow 39 . The high connectivity of vesicles in Apollo 15556 shows this vesicular layer would have evacuated during the cooling of the lava and stayed under vacuum since.…”

Section: The Delivery Mechanism Of Aqueous Liquid To Vesiclessupporting

confidence: 74%

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Copper sulfide in a vesicular basalt reveals aqueous liquid on the Moon

Liu

Ma²,

Eckley

2023

Preprint

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All previous reports of magmatic water on the Moon are structurally-bound OH in minerals or glasses. Here, we report the discovery of ubiquitous Cu1.4−1.8S in pristine Apollo vesicular basalt 15556. This copper sulfide forms multiple, fine-grained coatings draping over troilite grains on vesicle walls or coats fracture surfaces around troilite inside the rock. They also occur as rose-like clusters of bladed crystals of ~ 1 µm size at the edge of the coatings, or massive aggregates of < 0.5 µm small euhedral grains on top of the coatings. The draping nature of the coatings combined with unique geochemical signatures suggests copper sulfide precipitated from aqueous Cu- and S-bearing liquids. This finding demonstrates that extensive crystallization of lunar magma can generate aqueous liquids, some of which may be still stored in intrusive igneous rocks.

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Section: The Delivery Mechanism Of Aqueous Liquid To Vesiclessupporting

confidence: 74%

“…5F). The association of copper sul de with troilite on vesicle wall is likely due to the fact that hydrous uid wets sul de grains and no other minerals 39,41 .…”

Section: The Delivery Mechanism Of Aqueous Liquid To Vesiclesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Copper sulfide in a vesicular basalt reveals aqueous liquid on the Moon

Liu

Ma²,

Eckley

2023

Preprint

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“…In contrast to Donohue and Neal's polished section (71035,32), which contains no large vesicles and a few small voids, the subsamples FIGURE 13. Volume fraction distributions (VFD; left) and vesicle size distributions (VSD; right) for XCT subsamples calculated from the 3DSD spreadsheet from Gawronska et al (2022). We observe two populations of vesicle sizes: coalesced large vugs, and smaller vugs, as is visible in the VFD and VSD profiles.…”

Section: The Steno Crater Basalts' Eruption and Emplacement Historiesmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…Quantifying the volume and morphology of vugs and vesicles can provide valuable constraints on vesicle coalescence, the presence or absence of shearing during flow, and potentially eruption intensities (e.g., Moitra et al, 2013;Polacci et al, 2012;Valdivia et al, 2022). For example, careful textural analyses by Gawronska et al (2022) suggest that mare basalts collected by Apollo 11,12,15,and 17 missions are consistent with formation from lowviscosity, effusive lava flows.…”

Section: Magmaticmentioning

confidence: 99%

Volatiles, vesicles, and vugs: Unraveling the magmatic and eruptive histories of Steno crater basalts

Wilbur,

Barnes,

Eckley

et al. 2023

Meteorit & Planetary Scien

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In 1972, Apollo 17 astronauts returned 170.4 kg of lunar material. Within 1 month of their return, a subset of those samples was specially curated with the forethought that future analytical techniques would offer new insight into the formation and evolution of the Moon. Of interest in this work is sample 71036, a basalt collected from the rim of Steno crater in the Taurus–Littrow Valley, which was stored frozen and was processed and released for study 50 years later. We report, for the first time, the detailed mineralogy and petrology of 71036 and its companion samples 71035, 71037, and 71055 using a novel combination of 2‐D and 3‐D methods. We investigate lunar volatiles through in situ measurements of apatite and 3‐D measurements of vesicles to understand the degassing histories of the Steno crater basalts. Our coupled 2‐D petrography and 3‐D tomography data sets support a model of the Steno crater basalts crystallizing in the upper crust of a mare lava flow. Apatite F and OH chemistry and the late‐stage deformation of voids and formation of smaller vesicles provide evidence supporting coeval degassing of volatiles and crystallization of mesostasis apatite in Apollo 17 basalts. This work helps to close knowledge gaps surrounding the origin, magmatic evolution, emplacement, and crystallization history of high‐titanium basalts.

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“…XCT has a range of applications in planetary science and is commonly employed as a tool to understand information about the internal structure and composition of an extraterrestrial sample without cutting into it (Gawronska et al., 2022; Hanna & Ketcham, 2017). Tomographic studies of meteorites have been used to make a measurement of sample volume, or of the volume of components within a sample for a range of meteorites (Ebel & Rivers, 2007; McCausland et al., 2010; Wilbur et al., 2023).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nondestructive determination of the physical properties of Antarctic meteorites: Importance for the meteorite—parent body connection

Harvey,

MacArthur,

Joy

et al. 2023

Meteorit & Planetary Scien

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Photogrammetry is a low‐cost, nondestructive approach for producing 3‐D models of meteorites for the purpose of determining sample bulk density. Coupled with the use of a nondestructive magnetic susceptibility/electrical conductivity field probe, we present measurements for the interrogation of several physical properties, on a set of Antarctic meteorites. Photogrammetry is an effective technique over a range of sample sizes, with meteorite bulk density results that are closely comparable with literature values, determined using Archimedean glass bead or laser scanning techniques. The technique is completely noncontaminating and suitable for the analysis of rare or fragile samples, although there are limitations for analyzing reflective samples. It is also flexible, and, with variations in equipment setup, may be appropriate for samples of a wide range of sizes. X‐ray computed tomography analyses of the same meteorite samples yielded slightly different bulk density results, predominantly for samples below 10 g, although the reason for this is unclear. Such analyses are expensive and potentially damaging to certain features of the sample (e.g., organic compounds), but may be useful in expanding the measurements to accommodate an understanding of internal voids within the sample, lending itself to measurement of grain density. Measurements of bulk density are valuable for comparisons with estimates of the bulk densities of asteroids that are suggested as meteorite parent bodies.

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New interpretations of lunar mare basalt flow emplacement from XCT analysis of Apollo samples

Cited by 7 publications

References 103 publications

Copper sulfide in a vesicular basalt reveals aqueous liquid on the Moon

Copper sulfide in a vesicular basalt reveals aqueous liquid on the Moon

Volatiles, vesicles, and vugs: Unraveling the magmatic and eruptive histories of Steno crater basalts

Nondestructive determination of the physical properties of Antarctic meteorites: Importance for the meteorite—parent body connection

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