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Wilshire, H. G.

Publications and source records attributed to Wilshire, H. G..

12 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1975

Flows of impact melt at lunar craters

Lavalike materials that were emplaced in a fluid state occur in and around lunar impact craters whose diameters range from 3 km to more than 200 km and whose ages span a time interval of at least 3.5 billion years. The distribution of the lavalike deposits conforms to asymmetries of other ejecta from the same craters, and the material is concentrated downrange to distances as great as a crater radius. The character and distribution of the lavalike materials support the idea that they formed by impact melting rather than by volcanism. Returned samples indicate that materials with appropriate physical characteristics are generated by partial melting of feldspathic rocks by impact. The geologic evidence at lunar craters suggests that there is more melt rock in and near the craters than is predicted by experiment and theory.

Howard, K. A.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Apollo 16 rocks - Petrology and classification.

The Apollo 16 rocks are classified in three broad intergradational groups: (1) crystalline rocks, subdivided into igneous rocks and metaclastic rocks, (2) glass, and (3) breccias, which are subdivided into five groups on the basis of clast and matrix colors. Most of the rocks were derived by impact brecciation of an anorthosite-norite suite but may represent ejecta from more than one major basin. First-cycle breccias are believed to have consisted of clasts of crushed anorthosite-norite in a fine-grained partly fused matrix with a chemical composition similar to that of the clasts. Most of the other recognized breccia types could have been produced by rebrecciation of first-cycle breccias.

Wilshire, H. G.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Lunar 'dunite', 'pyroxenite' and 'anorthosite.'

Photomicrographic study of 200 thin sections of Apollo 14 rock samples suggests that these monomineralic aggregates are recrystallized single-mineral grains. It is contended, therefore, that the source rocks are not properly characterized by igneous rock names, being more moderately coarse-grained gabbroic rather than ultramafic rocks.

Wilshire, H. G.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Structure of Sierra Madera, Texas, as a guide to central peaks of lunar craters.

The central peaks of Copernicus or a similar lunar crater have been considered as a target for manned exploration, partly on the supposition that the peaks expose rock uplifted from beneath the crater floor. This supposition is based on an analogy with central uplifts of terrestrial cryptoexplosion structures. Sierra Madera in west Texas is one of these structures. The structure of its central uplift is described as a proposed analog of the central peaks of large lunar impact craters. Setting and stratigraphy of the Sierra Madera are discussed together with structural framework, the central uplift, fold patterns, and fault patterns. It is concluded that the central uplifts of Sierra Madera and similar cryptoexplosion structures appear to be analogous to central peaks of large lunar impact craters.

Howard, K. A.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Geologic setting and petrology of Apollo 15 anorthosite /15415/.

The geological setting, petrography and history of this Apollo 15 lunar rock sample are discussed, characterizing the sample as coarse-grained anorthosite composed largely of calcic plagioclase with small amounts of three pyroxene phases. The presence of shattered and granulated minerals in the texture of the rock is traced to two or more fragmentation events, and the presence of irregular bands of coarsely recrystallized plagioclase and minor pyroxene crossing larger plagioclase grains is traced to an earlier thermal metamorphic event. It is pointed out that any of these events may have affected apparent radiometric ages of elements in this rock. A comparative summarization of data suggests that this rock is the least-deformed member of a suite of similar rocks ejected from beneath the regolith at Spur crater.

Wilshire, H. G.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Impact breccias in carbonate rocks, Sierra Madera, Texas.

Two main types of deformational breccia occur in the Sierra Madera cryptoexplosion structure: monolithologic breccias composed of shattered rock of a single lithology and mixed breccias composed of rocks of several lithologies. Monolithologic breccias generally show no mineralogic signs of shock deformation, but a few samples are shatter-coned in a manner suggesting simultaneous formation of breccias and shatter cones. Mixed breccias, forming irregular, cross-cutting bodies, consistently contain moderately to highly shocked material, with mineralogic evidence of shock pressures of 50 kb to more than 200 kb, which, with evidence from the structural geometry of Sierra Madera and orientation of shatter cones, indicate an impact origin of the breccias. The mode of occurrence of the breccias, petrographic characteristics, and association with shock features are shared by breccias in many other cryptoexplosion structures in both carbonate and crystalline rock terranes, suggesting that such breccias have a common origin.

Wilshire, H. G.↗