Basaltic fragments in lunar feldspathic meteorites: Connecting sample analyses to orbital remote sensing

Katharine L. Robinson, Allan H. Treiman, Katherine H. Joy

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    The feldspathic lunar meteorites contain rare fragments of crystalline basalts. We analyzed 16 basalt fragments from four feldspathic lunar meteorites (Allan Hills [ALHA] 81005, MacAlpine Hills [MAC] 88104/88105, Queen Alexandra Range [QUE] 93069, Miller Range [MIL] 07006) and utilized literature data for another (Dhofar [Dho] 1180). We compositionally classify basalt fragments according to their magma's estimated TiO 2 contents, which we derive for crystalline basalts from pyroxene TiO 2 and the mineral-melt Ti distribution coefficient. Overall, most of the basalt fragments are low-Ti basalts (1-6% TiO 2), with a significant proportion of very-low-Ti basalts (10% TiO 2 and 6-10% TiO 2, respectively). This distribution of basalt TiO 2 abundances is nearly identical to that obtained from orbital remote sensing of the moon (both UV-Vis from Clementine, and gamma ray from Lunar Prospector). However, the distribution of TiO 2 abundances is unlike those of the Apollo and Luna returned samples: we observe a paucity of high-Ti basalts. The compositional types of basalt differs from meteorite to meteorite, which implies that all basalt subtypes are not randomly distributed on the Moon, i.e., the basalt fragments in each meteorite probably represent basalts in the neighborhood of the meteorite launch site. These differences in basalt chemistry and classifications may be useful in identifying the source regions of some feldspathic meteorites. Some of the basalt fragments probably originate from ancient cryptomaria, and so may hold clues to the petrogenesis of the Moon's oldest volcanism. © 2012 The Meteoritical Society.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)387-399
    Number of pages12
    JournalMeteoritics and Planetary Science
    Volume47
    Issue number3
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Mar 2012

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Basaltic fragments in lunar feldspathic meteorites: Connecting sample analyses to orbital remote sensing'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this