The early geological history of the Moon inferred from ancient lunar meteorite Miller Range 13317

Natalie M. Curran; K.H. Joy; J.F. Snape; John F. Pernet-Fisher; Jamie D. Gilmour; A.A. Nemchin; M.J. Whitehouse; Ray Burgess

doi:10.1111/maps.13295

The early geological history of the Moon inferred from ancient lunar meteorite Miller Range 13317

Natalie M. Curran
, K.H. Joy
, J.F. Snape
, John F. Pernet-Fisher
, Jamie D. Gilmour
, A.A. Nemchin
, M.J. Whitehouse
, Ray Burgess

Geology and Geochemistry

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Miller Range (MIL) 13317 is a heterogeneous basalt‐bearing lunar regolith breccia that provides insights into the early magmatic history of the Moon. MIL 13317 is formed from a mixture of material with clasts having an affinity to Apollo ferroan anorthosites and basaltic volcanic rocks. Noble gas data indicate that MIL 13317 was consolidated into a breccia between 2610 ± 780 Ma and 1570 ± 470 Ma where it experienced a complex near‐surface irradiation history for ~835 ± 84 Myr, at an average depth of ~30 cm. The fusion crust has an intermediate composition (Al2O3 15.9 wt%; FeO 12.3 wt%) with an added incompatible trace element (Th 5.4 ppm) chemical component. Taking the fusion crust to be indicative of the bulk sample composition, this implies that MIL 13317 originated from a regolith that is associated with a mare‐highland boundary that is KREEP‐rich (i.e., K, rare earth elements, and P). A comparison of bulk chemical data from MIL 13317 with remote sensing data from the Lunar Prospector orbiter suggests that MIL 13317 likely originated from the northwest region of Oceanus Procellarum, east of Mare Nubium, or at the eastern edge of Mare Frigoris. All these potential source areas are on the near side of the Moon, indicating a close association with the Procellarum KREEP Terrane. Basalt clasts in MIL 13317 are from a very low‐Ti to low‐Ti (between 0.14 and 0.32 wt%) source region. The similar mineral fractionation trends of the different basalt clasts in the sample suggest they are comagmatic in origin. Zircon‐bearing phases and Ca‐phosphate grains in basalt clasts and matrix grains yield 207Pb/206Pb ages between 4344 ± 4 and 4333 ± 5 Ma. These ancient 207Pb/206Pb ages indicate that the meteorite has sampled a range of Pre‐Nectarian volcanic rocks that are poorly represented in the Apollo, Luna, and lunar meteorite collections. As such, MIL 13317 adds to the growing evidence that basaltic volcanic activity on the Moon started as early as ~4340 Ma, before the main period of lunar mare basalt volcanism at ~3850 Ma.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1401-1430
Number of pages	30
Journal	Meteoritics and Planetary Science
Volume	54
Issue number	7
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.13295
Publication status	Published - 14 May 2019

Funding

Acknowledgments—U.S. Antarctic meteorite samples are recovered by the Antarctic Search for Meteorites (ANSMET) program, which has been funded by NSF and NASA, and characterized and curated by the Department of Mineral Sciences of the Smithsonian Institution and Astromaterials Curation Office at NASA Johnson Space Center. We thank Julia Cartwright, James Day, and two anonymous reviewers for providing helpful reviews on an earlier version of the manuscript and Timothy Jull for editorial handling. We thank Jon Fellows (University of Manchester) for assistance with the ESEM and EMP analyses, and John Cowpe for noble gas expertise. We acknowledge the Science and Technology Facilities Council (PhD studentship to Natalie Curran and consolidated grants ST/M001253/1 and ST/R000751/1) and Royal Society (UF140190) for funding. Joshua Snape, Alexander Nemchin, and Martin Whitehouse acknowledge grant funding from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (2012.0097) and the Swedish Research Council (VR 621-2012-4370). The NordSIMS facility operates as a Swedish-Icelandic infrastructure, supported by the Swedish Research Council, the University of Iceland, and the Swedish Museum of Natural History, of which this is publication 595. We also thank Randy Korotev (Washington University) for his informative Lunar Meteorite List, and Chuck Meyer (JSC) and Kevin Righter (JSC) for the Apollo and Lunar meteorite compendiums. U.S. Antarctic meteorite samples are recovered by the Antarctic Search for Meteorites (ANSMET) program, which has been funded by NSF and NASA, and characterized and curated by the Department of Mineral Sciences of the Smithsonian Institution and Astromaterials Curation Office at NASA Johnson Space Center. We thank Julia Cartwright, James Day, and two anonymous reviewers for providing helpful reviews on an earlier version of the manuscript and Timothy Jull for editorial handling. We thank Jon Fellows (University of Manchester) for assistance with the ESEM and EMP analyses, and John Cowpe for noble gas expertise. We acknowledge the Science and Technology Facilities Council (PhD studentship to Natalie Curran and consolidated grants ST/M001253/1 and ST/R000751/1) and Royal Society (UF140190) for funding. Joshua Snape, Alexander Nemchin, and Martin Whitehouse acknowledge grant funding from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (2012.0097) and the Swedish Research Council (VR 621-2012-4370). The NordSIMS facility operates as a Swedish-Icelandic infrastructure, supported by the Swedish Research Council, the University of Iceland, and the Swedish Museum of Natural History, of which this is publication 595. We also thank Randy Korotev (Washington University) for his informative Lunar Meteorite List, and Chuck Meyer (JSC) and Kevin Righter (JSC) for the Apollo and Lunar meteorite compendiums.

Funders	Funder number
Astromaterials Curation Office
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
National Science Foundation
Swedish Museum of Natural History
Smithsonian Institution
Department of Mineral Sciences of the Smithsonian Institution
Háskóli Íslands
National Sleep Foundation
Johnson Space Center
University of Manchester
UK Research and Innovation
Vetenskapsrådet	VR 621-2012-4370
Knut och Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse	2012.0097
Royal Society	UF140190
Science and Technology Facilities Council	ST/M001253/1, ST/R000751/1
Horizon 2020 Framework Programme	794287

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 14 Life Below Water

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title = "The early geological history of the Moon inferred from ancient lunar meteorite Miller Range 13317",

abstract = "Miller Range (MIL) 13317 is a heterogeneous basalt‐bearing lunar regolith breccia that provides insights into the early magmatic history of the Moon. MIL 13317 is formed from a mixture of material with clasts having an affinity to Apollo ferroan anorthosites and basaltic volcanic rocks. Noble gas data indicate that MIL 13317 was consolidated into a breccia between 2610 ± 780 Ma and 1570 ± 470 Ma where it experienced a complex near‐surface irradiation history for \textasciitilde{}835 ± 84 Myr, at an average depth of \textasciitilde{}30 cm. The fusion crust has an intermediate composition (Al2O3 15.9 wt\%; FeO 12.3 wt\%) with an added incompatible trace element (Th 5.4 ppm) chemical component. Taking the fusion crust to be indicative of the bulk sample composition, this implies that MIL 13317 originated from a regolith that is associated with a mare‐highland boundary that is KREEP‐rich (i.e., K, rare earth elements, and P). A comparison of bulk chemical data from MIL 13317 with remote sensing data from the Lunar Prospector orbiter suggests that MIL 13317 likely originated from the northwest region of Oceanus Procellarum, east of Mare Nubium, or at the eastern edge of Mare Frigoris. All these potential source areas are on the near side of the Moon, indicating a close association with the Procellarum KREEP Terrane. Basalt clasts in MIL 13317 are from a very low‐Ti to low‐Ti (between 0.14 and 0.32 wt\%) source region. The similar mineral fractionation trends of the different basalt clasts in the sample suggest they are comagmatic in origin. Zircon‐bearing phases and Ca‐phosphate grains in basalt clasts and matrix grains yield 207Pb/206Pb ages between 4344 ± 4 and 4333 ± 5 Ma. These ancient 207Pb/206Pb ages indicate that the meteorite has sampled a range of Pre‐Nectarian volcanic rocks that are poorly represented in the Apollo, Luna, and lunar meteorite collections. As such, MIL 13317 adds to the growing evidence that basaltic volcanic activity on the Moon started as early as \textasciitilde{}4340 Ma, before the main period of lunar mare basalt volcanism at \textasciitilde{}3850 Ma.",

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AU - Joy, K.H.

AU - Snape, J.F.

AU - Pernet-Fisher, John F.

AU - Gilmour, Jamie D.

AU - Nemchin, A.A.

AU - Whitehouse, M.J.

AU - Burgess, Ray

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N2 - Miller Range (MIL) 13317 is a heterogeneous basalt‐bearing lunar regolith breccia that provides insights into the early magmatic history of the Moon. MIL 13317 is formed from a mixture of material with clasts having an affinity to Apollo ferroan anorthosites and basaltic volcanic rocks. Noble gas data indicate that MIL 13317 was consolidated into a breccia between 2610 ± 780 Ma and 1570 ± 470 Ma where it experienced a complex near‐surface irradiation history for ~835 ± 84 Myr, at an average depth of ~30 cm. The fusion crust has an intermediate composition (Al2O3 15.9 wt%; FeO 12.3 wt%) with an added incompatible trace element (Th 5.4 ppm) chemical component. Taking the fusion crust to be indicative of the bulk sample composition, this implies that MIL 13317 originated from a regolith that is associated with a mare‐highland boundary that is KREEP‐rich (i.e., K, rare earth elements, and P). A comparison of bulk chemical data from MIL 13317 with remote sensing data from the Lunar Prospector orbiter suggests that MIL 13317 likely originated from the northwest region of Oceanus Procellarum, east of Mare Nubium, or at the eastern edge of Mare Frigoris. All these potential source areas are on the near side of the Moon, indicating a close association with the Procellarum KREEP Terrane. Basalt clasts in MIL 13317 are from a very low‐Ti to low‐Ti (between 0.14 and 0.32 wt%) source region. The similar mineral fractionation trends of the different basalt clasts in the sample suggest they are comagmatic in origin. Zircon‐bearing phases and Ca‐phosphate grains in basalt clasts and matrix grains yield 207Pb/206Pb ages between 4344 ± 4 and 4333 ± 5 Ma. These ancient 207Pb/206Pb ages indicate that the meteorite has sampled a range of Pre‐Nectarian volcanic rocks that are poorly represented in the Apollo, Luna, and lunar meteorite collections. As such, MIL 13317 adds to the growing evidence that basaltic volcanic activity on the Moon started as early as ~4340 Ma, before the main period of lunar mare basalt volcanism at ~3850 Ma.

AB - Miller Range (MIL) 13317 is a heterogeneous basalt‐bearing lunar regolith breccia that provides insights into the early magmatic history of the Moon. MIL 13317 is formed from a mixture of material with clasts having an affinity to Apollo ferroan anorthosites and basaltic volcanic rocks. Noble gas data indicate that MIL 13317 was consolidated into a breccia between 2610 ± 780 Ma and 1570 ± 470 Ma where it experienced a complex near‐surface irradiation history for ~835 ± 84 Myr, at an average depth of ~30 cm. The fusion crust has an intermediate composition (Al2O3 15.9 wt%; FeO 12.3 wt%) with an added incompatible trace element (Th 5.4 ppm) chemical component. Taking the fusion crust to be indicative of the bulk sample composition, this implies that MIL 13317 originated from a regolith that is associated with a mare‐highland boundary that is KREEP‐rich (i.e., K, rare earth elements, and P). A comparison of bulk chemical data from MIL 13317 with remote sensing data from the Lunar Prospector orbiter suggests that MIL 13317 likely originated from the northwest region of Oceanus Procellarum, east of Mare Nubium, or at the eastern edge of Mare Frigoris. All these potential source areas are on the near side of the Moon, indicating a close association with the Procellarum KREEP Terrane. Basalt clasts in MIL 13317 are from a very low‐Ti to low‐Ti (between 0.14 and 0.32 wt%) source region. The similar mineral fractionation trends of the different basalt clasts in the sample suggest they are comagmatic in origin. Zircon‐bearing phases and Ca‐phosphate grains in basalt clasts and matrix grains yield 207Pb/206Pb ages between 4344 ± 4 and 4333 ± 5 Ma. These ancient 207Pb/206Pb ages indicate that the meteorite has sampled a range of Pre‐Nectarian volcanic rocks that are poorly represented in the Apollo, Luna, and lunar meteorite collections. As such, MIL 13317 adds to the growing evidence that basaltic volcanic activity on the Moon started as early as ~4340 Ma, before the main period of lunar mare basalt volcanism at ~3850 Ma.

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ER -

The early geological history of the Moon inferred from ancient lunar meteorite Miller Range 13317

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