The most reduced rock from the moon, Apollo 14 basalt 14053: Its unique features and their origin

Taylor, L. A.; Patchen, A. D.; Mayne, R. G.; Taylor, D. S.

doi:10.2138/am-2004-11-1205

Cited by 49 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…1A). This texture has been described previously and has been suggested to arise from the rock interacting with solarwind-implanted hydrogen at the lunar surface during impactinduced shock metamorphism (41).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 62%

“…High-Al basalt 14053 is among the most well-studied samples in the lunar collection. Previous petrographic observations have indicated that sample 14053 is a coarsegrained high-Al basalt (40,41). Previous isotopic studies of the rock have indicated a Rb-Sr crystallization age of 3.92 Ga (e.g., refs.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…There is some debate as to whether this rock represents the composition of an impact melt (41,43) or a magmatic liquid (i.e., refs. 32 and 63).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The energy required for this process is reported to have been supplied by an impact, and the hydrogen source is reported to be solar wind (41). Importantly, it was shown that the phosphates were affected by this process, because they typically have fritted edges, variable REE contents, and disturbed SmNd isotopic systematics where the reduction textures are prominent (41,43). The observation of the same reduction textures in section 14053,16 (studied here), which are adjacent to the analyzed apatite grains (Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nominally hydrous magmatism on the Moon

McCubbin

Steele

Hauri

et al. 2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

269

185

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For the past 40 years, the Moon has been described as nearly devoid of indigenous water; however, evidence for water both on the lunar surface and within the lunar interior have recently emerged, calling into question this long-standing lunar dogma. In the present study, hydroxyl (as well as fluoride and chloride) was analyzed by secondary ion mass spectrometry in apatite [Ca 5 ðPO 4 Þ 3 ðF,Cl,OHÞ] from three different lunar samples in order to obtain quantitative constraints on the abundance of water in the lunar interior. This work confirms that hundreds to thousands of ppm water (of the structural form hydroxyl) is present in apatite from the Moon. Moreover, two of the studied samples likely had water preserved from magmatic processes, which would qualify the water as being indigenous to the Moon. The presence of hydroxyl in apatite from a number of different types of lunar rocks indicates that water may be ubiquitous within the lunar interior, potentially as early as the time of lunar formation. The water contents analyzed for the lunar apatite indicate minimum water contents of their lunar source region to range from 64 ppb to 5 ppm H 2 O. This lower limit range of water contents is at least two orders of magnitude greater than the previously reported value for the bulk Moon, and the actual source region water contents could be significantly higher. O ne of the scientific discoveries resulting from the Apollo missions was the pervasive waterless nature of the Moon and its rocks. The initial studies of the returned samples were pristine and showed no evidence of aqueous alteration, and water analyses were below detection limits. Moreover, hydrous phases were absent from the lunar rocks aside from a few unconfirmed reports of possible amphibole grains (1), which are now considered by many to represent either misidentifications or terrestrial contamination (as summarized by ref. 2). The subsequent forty years of lunar sample analysis have only supported and strengthened the idea that indigenous water was nearly absent from the Moon's interior. In fact, this conclusion has been incorporated into many petrologic and geophysical models constructed to aid in our understanding of lunar formation and lunar geology (3-11). The bulk water content of the Moon was recently estimated to be less than 1 ppb (11), which would make the Moon at least six orders of magnitude drier than the interiors of Earth (12, 13) and Mars (14). This extremely low water content is in keeping with the pervasive volatile-element depletion signature recorded in all lunar materials, because hydrogen is the most volatile of the elements. The exact cause for this volatile-element depletion is still under question; however, many have argued that it stems from the high temperatures associated with the Moon-forming giant-impact event at ∼4.5 Ga (i.e., refs. 3,8,15,and 16).Facilitated by advancements in analytical detection sensitivities for water, several recent discoveries have indicated that the story of water on the Moon is far from complete. Evi...

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 62%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…There is some debate as to whether this rock represents the composition of an impact melt (41,43) or a magmatic liquid (i.e., refs. 32 and 63).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Nominally hydrous magmatism on the Moon

McCubbin

Steele

Hauri

et al. 2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

269

185

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“…The low δD values of apatite grains in 14053 can be readily explained by the rocks unique petrologic history, which involved implantation of solar wind protons at the lunar surface followed at some later time by metamorphism in an impact blanket 25 . This would imply that basalt 14053 had a more D-rich signature prior to emplacement on the lunar surface and suggests that this sample should not be used to estimate lunar mantle water contents 9 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrogen isotope ratios in lunar rocks indicate delivery of cometary water to the Moon

et al. 2011

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Hydrogen isotope ratios in lunar rocks and the delivery of cometary water to the MoonWater plays a critical role in the evolution of planetary bodies 1 , and determination of the amount and sources of lunar water has profound implications for our understanding of the history of the Earth-Moon system. During the Apollo program, the lunar samples were found to be devoid of indigeneous water 2,3 . The severe depletion of lunar volatiles 4 , including water, has long been seen as strong support for the giant-impact origin of the Moon 5 . Recent studies have found water in lunar volcanic glasses 6 and in lunar apatite 7-9 , but the sources of lunar water have not been determined. Here we report ion microprobe measurements of water and hydrogen isotopes in the hydrous mineral apatite, found in crystalline lunar mare basalts and highlands rocks collected during the Apollo missions. We find significant water in apatite from both mare and highlands rocks, indicating a role for water during all phases of the Moon's magmatic history. Variations of hydrogen isotope ratios in apatite suggest the lunar mantle, solar wind protons, and comets as possible sources for water in lunar rocks and imply a significant delivery of cometary water to the Earth-Moon system shortly after the Moon-forming impact.

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