composition and condition of the lunar mantle, the style of early planetary differentiation, the history and character of ARTICLE IN PRESS
Corresponding author. E-mail address: cshearer@unm.edu (C.K. Shearer).early mantle dynamics and melting, and the isolation of the lunar mantle from late-stages of lunar accretion. Second, trace element analysis of individual mineral grains via ion microprobe and isotopic analysis of small rock fragm...
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.532.3063 http://www.lpi.usra.edu/captem/internal/shearer _borg _2006.pdf |
| Summary: | Corresponding author. E-mail address: cshearer@unm.edu (C.K. Shearer).early mantle dynamics and melting, and the isolation of the lunar mantle from late-stages of lunar accretion. Second, trace element analysis of individual mineral grains via ion microprobe and isotopic analysis of small rock fragments representing some of the oldest and youngest periods of lunar magmatism illustrate their usefulness for both fingerprinting distinct episodes of lunar magmatism and reconstructing the evolution of lunar magmatism. Third, mechanisms for primitive planetary mantles degassing and volatile transport on airless bodies can be understood by the analysis of volatile coatings on glass and mineral fragments in the lunar regolith. As many of our insights about the Moon are based on samples that primarily were collected within a limited lunar terrain, our understanding of the Moon is somewhat biased. Future scientifically strategic sampling targets are young mare basalts (Roris basalt in Oceanus Procellarum), far-side mare basalts (Mare Moscoviense), large pyroclastic deposits and potential mantle xenoliths (Aristarchus plateau, Rima Bode) major unsampled crustal lithologies outside the Procellarum KREEP terrane (central peak in Tsiolkovsky crater, South-pole Aitken basin), basin and crater melt sheets (South-pole Aitken basin, Giordano Bruno) and H deposits in permanently shaded areas (South-pole Aitken basin). Sampling these locations would further our understanding of processes at work during the early evolution of the terrestrial planets, provide a comprehensive history of endogenous (e.g., primary volcanic degassing) andplanetary and solar system scales. Three examples from the Moon illustrate this point. First, multi-analytical and |
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