Mattinson, J. M. | Search NASA

NASA NTRS1978

Lead isotope systematics of mare basalt 75075

Uranium, thorium and isotopic lead data are reported for two bulk samples and separated pyroxene, ilmenite and plagioclase from basalt 75075. In a concordia diagram the whole rock, ilmenite and four pyroxene samples define a chord intersecting the concordia curve at approximately 4.25 and 2.8 AE. Three plagioclase samples plot distinctly off the chord. The crystallization age of 75075 is accurately determined at 3.74 AE by Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd and K-Ar measurements from other laboratories. It is not possible to adjust the isotopic composition of initial lead so as to reconcile the U-Pb data with a crystallization age of 3.74 AE. The data therefore indicate some type of post-crystallization disturbance of the U-Pb system that is not detected by the other systems. The 75075 data are one of the few examples of this type of age pattern found on the moon. If the disturbance was a single event, it probably occurred around 2.8 AE ago, the time indicated by the pyroxene, whole rock and ilmenite data.

Chen, J. H.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Lead isotope studies of mare basalt 70017

Uranium, thorium, and isotopic lead data for components of basalt 70017 are reported, and it is found that the whole rock, pyroxene, and ilmenite points in a concordia diagram plot along a chord intersecting the curve at 3.7 and 4.33 eons. The plagioclase data do not seem to lie on this line. The data for 70017 appear to plot along a distinctly different chord in a concordia diagram than do the data for 75055 and 75035, two other Apollo 17 mare basalts. The lead data are in accord with Sm-Nd results. A 3.7 eon crystallization age for 70017 would be consistent with the same kind of parentless lead that is indicated by previous studies of soils and soil breccias from stations at Taurus-Littrow. The Th/U ratio in ilmenite is 2.2, and the concentrations of these two elements are approximately twice those in pyroxene.

Mattinson, J. M.↗