Relationship between positive cerium anomaly and adsorbed water in Antarctic lunar meteorites

• Published in: Meteoritics & Planetary Science
• Main Authors: KAGI, HIROYUKI, TAKAHASHI, KAZUYA
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1998
• Subjects: Space and Planetary Science; Geophysics; Antarctic; Yamato; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1945-5100.1998.tb01710.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1945-5100.1998.tb01710.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1945-5100.1998.tb01710.x

Abstract— Concentrations of adsorbed water in single mineral grains of Antarctic lunar meteorites were determined with micro infrared (IR) spectroscopy. A relationship was found between the mineral's ability to adsorb water and the extent of Ce anomaly in rare earth element (REE) patterns precisely determined by the isotope dilution method using a thermal ionization mass spectrometer. Asuka (A) 881757, a lunar meteorite from the mare basalt without Ce anomaly, showed no trace of IR absorption due to adsorbed water. On the contrary, Yamato (Y) 791197‐109, Y‐86032‐98, Y‐86032‐95, Y‐791197‐115 and Y‐82192‐55A from the lunar highland exhibiting positive Ce anomaly showed IR absorption due to adsorbed water in some of their minerals. The detected water would be of terrestrial origin, because it was not structurally bound and easy to exchange judging from the spectral band shape. The contrast in concentration of adsorbed water between the lunar highland and the mare basalt is derived from a difference in the density of microfractures in mineral grains. Average concentrations of adsorbed water in the lunar highland meteorites were 3.8 mg/cm 3 for pyroxene and olivine, and 1.7 mg/cm 3 for plagioclase. This contrast between minerals is noteworthy because it has been known that Ce anomaly of pyroxene and olivine is larger than that of plagioclase both for Antarctic lunar meteorites and some lunar rocks. Furthermore, more adsorbed water was detected for minerals in meteorites that exhibit larger Ce anomaly. The present observations demonstrate that the extent of Ce anomaly correlated with the concentration of adsorbed water, which suggests that active mineral surface resulting in adsorption of water could be a trace of interaction forming Ce anomaly. Terrestrial weathering on Antarctica and REE fractionation on the Moon are discussed for possible origins of the Ce anomaly.