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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 181 records · Page 10
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NASA NTRS1978

A chemical study of the impact glasses and basalts from Lonar Crater, India

Twenty-nine elements were determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis in two impact glasses and four basalts from Lonar Crater, India, and the glasses and the underlying core basalt samples are found to be very similar in major, minor, and trace element abundances. This finding seems to indicate that impact-induced chemical fractionation during formation of the glasses from basalt is minimal for many of the principal rock and mineral-forming elements. Since most volatile trace elements were not determined in this study, differences in the volatile trace element contents of the glasses and basalts can not be excluded.

Stroube, W. B., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1978

On the origin of Luna 24 basalts and soils

Analyses of fine-grained very low titanium (VLT) basalt from the Luna 24 drill core suggest that a single homogeneous magma is represented by the sample. In particular, the small variation in MgO contents of the fine-grained basalt, together with the tight clustering of the compositions of brown glasses (which may be pyroclastic equivalents of the VLT basalt), provides evidence for the single-magma hypothesis. The high-Mg component in the soil samples, though not obviously explainable in petrographic terms, may be derived from material similar to olivine vitrophyre and its degraded products, or from some other high-Mg VLT basalt.

Ryder, G.↗
NASA NTRS1978

VLT mare basalts - Impact mixing, parent magma types, and petrogenesis

Available major-element compositions of very low-Ti (VLT) mare basalt lithic fragments and glasses are examined. Many of the lithic fragments contain relic mineral and sometimes lithic clasts, which suggests that many samples of VLT mare basalt glasses and lithic fragments were formed by impact melting. Therefore, some may have compositions that represent mixtures of VLT mare basalts and other types of rocks, not authentic igneous rock compositions. In spite of this problem, a number of possible parent magma compositions are identified. These hypothetical magmas vary in CaO/Al2O3(0.9-1.1), FeO (17 to 24 wt. %), Fe/(Fe + Mg) (0.34-0.46), and K2O (0-0.2 wt. %). Each may have differentiated to produce a wide variety of derivative magmas. Calculations involving olivine fractionation from the proposed parent magmas indicate the Luna 24 ferrobasalts might have formed from a magma whose composition is similar to that of a group of high-MgO (about 13-14 wt. %) Apollo 17 VLT mare basalt glasses.

Taylor, G. J.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Green glass vitrophyre 78526 - An impact of very low-Ti mare basalt composition

Rake sample 78526 is an 8.77 g rock consisting primarily of vitrophyric pale green glass with subordinate mineral and lithic relics. Petrographic and compositional evidence leads to the following conclusions: (1) the bulk composition represents that of a mixture formed by impact melting of at least two different textural and compositional varieties of VLT mare basalt that are now present in the rock as lithic relics and a poorly defined low-Ti mare basalt component observed in thin section only in the form of isolated mineral relics; (2) the admixed VLT mare basalts had REE abundances lower than those found in other mare basalts (but probably higher than emerald green glass) and REE patterns showing significant enrichment of the heavy relative to light REE's, suggesting that they were derived by comparatively high degrees of partial melting of a clinopyroxene-rich source region; and (3) the impact melt supercooled to produce the vitrophyre, with rather sharply contrasting textural domains present in the vitrophyre resulting from differences in nucleation kinetics and degrees of supercooling in various portions of the sample.

Warner, R. D.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Pyroxenes from planetary basalts - Characterization of 'other' than quadrilateral components

The paper reports on a synthesis of the silicate mineralogy of a planetary basalt suite, which concerns itself only with specific aspects of pyroxene cation substitutional couples. Consideration is given to the mineral chemistry and the basalt suites in an overview fashion. Attention is given to those characteristics of pyroxene chemistry that reflect planetary constraints on the host basalts from which the pyroxenes crystallized. It is concluded that the inspection of a large number of high quality silicate analyses of pyroxenes demonstrates conclusively that these phases carry a signature of the planetary body in which they evolved. In addition, it is noted that there are planetary probes capable of constraining thermodynamic parameters that were obtained during the petrogenesis of their host basaltic liquids

Papike, J. J.↗
NASA NTRS1979

The petrology of the Apollo 12 pigeonite basalt suite

A study of the petrology of the Apollo 12 pigeonite basalt samples 12011, 12043, and 12007 is presented. In this suite, the abundances of olivine and Cr-spinel decrease with increasing grain size, while the abundances of plagioclase and ilmenite increase. The petrochemical and textural variations indicate that the pigeonite basalts were derived from the olivine basalts, but the compositional gap between the olivine and pigeonite basalts indicates that they could not have crystallized together from a single, initially homogeneous magma body.

Baldridge, W. S.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Petrology, chemistry, and chronology of Apollo 14 KREEP basalts

The results of petrographic, major and trace element geochemical, and Rb-Sr isotopic studies of four crystalline matrix breccias and two intergranular to subophitic basalts are reported. Emphasis is placed on the relationship of the basalt fragments to other Apollo 14 KREEP basalts, and the origin of this group as a whole. Considering the high siderophile element content, the balance of evidence favors origin of the Apollo 14 KREEP basalts by impact melting, probably a single melt with slight chemical and isotopic heterogeneities.

Mckay, G. A.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Shock metamorphism of granulated lunar basalt

The paper deals with an extensive series of shock-recovery experiments performed on both nonporous crystalline basalt and its granulated and sieved counterpart to study the role of porosity and grain size in shock motomorphic effects under otherwise identical conditions. Shocked samples are compared with unshocked starting material in terms of textural and mineralogical modifications attributable to shock. A comparative petrographic and chemical characterization is presented of pulverized and sieved lunar basalt 75035 shocked between 6 and 75 GPa in comparison with holocrystalline disks of the same basalts shocked in 10 earlier experiments. Specifically, a petrographic classification of shock features is given, along with an estimation of relative amounts of shock glasses and a chemical characterization of shock glasses in each shocked granular basalt.

Schaal, R. B.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Thickness of the western mare basalts

The basalts of the western maria occupy large circular basins and surrounding lowlands associated with the basins. Mare Imbrium and Mare Humorum are the only well-preserved circular basins. Isopach mapping suggests that the vast expanse of basalt plains of Oceanus Procellarum mantles a composite structure of several coalescing basins. The thickest basalts are found in Mare Imbrium, Mare Humorum, and in the western part of the Oceanus Procellarum. Relatively thin basalts are found south and southwest of Mare Imbrium, in the Central Lowland region, and in northern Procellarium. For the most part, the general conclusions of earilier studies of the eastern maria are confirmed in the western maria.

De Hon, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Petrology of dune sand derived from basalt on the Ka'u Desert, Hawaii

Dune sand from the Ka'u Desert, southwest flank of Kilauea volcano, Hawaii, is moderately well-sorted (median = 1.60 Phi, deviation = 0.60, skewness = 0.25, kurtosis = 0.68) and composed mostly of frosted subangular particles of basalt glass ('unfractionated' olivine-normative tholeitte), olivine, lithic fragments (subophitic and intersertal basalts; magnetite-ilmenite-rich basalts), reticular basalt glass, magnetite, ilmenite, and plagioclase, in approximately that order of abundance. Quantitative lithological comparison of the dune sand with sand-sized ash from the Keanakakoi Formation supports suggestions that the dune sand was derived largely from Keanakakoi ash. The dune sand is too well sorted to have been emplaced in its present form by base-surge but could have evolved by post-eruption reworking of the ash.

Gooding, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Mechanisms of Basalt-plains Ridge Formation

The morphologic similarities between the Columbia Plateau ridges and ridges on the Moon, Mercury and Mars form a strong basis for the interpretation of basalt-plains ridges as compressional folds. The basalt-plains ridges appear to have formed on competent flood basalt units deformed at the surface with essentially no confining pressure. Estimates of compressive strain for planetary ridges range from a few tenths of a percent on the Moon to up to 0.4% on Mars, to as high as 35% for Columbia Plateau folds with associated thrust faults. Such values have strong implications for both deformational mechanisms as well as for the source of stress. Deformational mechanisms that will attempt to account for the morphology, fold geometry, possible associated thrust faulting and regular spacing of the basalt-plains ridges on the terrestrial planets are under investigation.

Watters, T. R.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Concentrations and isotope ratios of carbon, nitrogen and sulfur in ocean-floor basalts

Ocean floor basalts studied from the Galapagos Ridge, FAMOUS area, Cayman Trough and Kilauea east rift contain 20-200 ppm carbon and 0.3-2.8 ppn nitrogen as sums of the vesicle-filling gases CO2 and N2 and dissolved species. The wide range of carbon contents found is due partly to the different extent of outgassing of vesicle-filling gases and partly to depth dependency of dissolved CO2 in the basalts. Sulfate commonly exists with sulfide in these basalts, and the sulfate/sulfide ratio increases with increasing water content, perhaps reflecting the higher oxidation potential in basalt melt of the higher water content.

Sakai, H.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Chronology and isotopic geochemistry of apollo 14 basalts and Skaergard Gabbro, Eastern Greenland

Work completed on Apollo 14 basalts has been published. The two dates obtained from these rocks comprised the oldest and two of the three oldest ages (4.1 and 4.3 billion years) known for lunar maria basalts; thus their ages are important in understanding the moon's earliest history. Owing to the antiquity of these rocks, two more fragments have been dated as part of a second ASEE/NASA SFF program. The new ages are 3.95 and 4.12 billion years, thus further establishing and amplifying the earlier results. This work, although perhaps more interesting for its chronologic information, was begun as a test of chemical and petrographic models. Fragments of Apollo basalt were placed into five categories, based on petrologic and chemical, especially rare-earth element, composition. Isotopic studies were begun in an attempt to determine if the five groups of basalts were related by age or initial isotopic composition (isotopic composition of lava at time of extrusion). Although a few of the representatives of the five groups have the same age and/or initial strontium-isotopic composition, within the analtytical uncertainties, most apparently are unrelated. Petrologic implications of these data will be published in an appropriate journal.

Dasch, E. J.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Mare basalt genesis - Modeling trace elements and isotopic ratios

Various types of mare basalt data have been synthesized, leading to the production of an internally consistent model of the mare basalt source region and mare basalt genesis. The model accounts for the mineralogical, major oxide, compatible siderophile trace element, incompatible trace element, and isotopic characteristics of most of the mare basalt units and of all the pyroclastic glass units for which reliable data are available. Initial tests of the model show that it also reproduces the mineralogy and incompatible trace element characteristics of the complementary highland anorthosite suite of rocks and, in a general way, those of the lunar granite suite of rocks.

Binder, A. B.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Alkali norite, troctolites, and VHK mare basalts from breccia 14304

Six pristine rocks, two mare basalts, and four nonpristine highlands rocks were separated from breccia 14304 for consortium study. The pristine highlands rocks include representatives of the Mg troctolite-anorthosite and alkali suites of the Apollo 14 site. Two troctolite clasts have olivine and plagioclase compositions similar to one group of Apollo 14 troctolites and one also contains spinel. Incompatible element abundances in one are similar to those of 14305 troctolites, although the heavy rare earth elements pattern is distinct among Apollo 14 troctolites. Alkali lithologies include an alkali anorthosite and an alkali norite, the latter having a pristine igneous texture and resembling alkali gabbronites from Apollo 14 and 67975 in mineralogy and mineral compositions. It is suggested that Apollo 14 alkali lithologies and PO4-bearing Mg anorthosites formed from Mg-rich magmas that assimilated various amounts of material rich in P and REE. Another pristine clast from 14304 is an Mg-gabbronorite. The two mare basalt clasts are very high potassium basalts, whose parent magmas could have formed from a typical low-Ti, high-Al basaltic magmas by assimilation of K-rich material. Nonpristine 14304 clasts include melt-textured anorthosites and an augite-rich poikilitic melt rock.

Goodrich, C. A.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Basalt depths in lunar basins using impact craters as stratigraphic probes: Evaluation of a method using orbital geochemical data

A rare look at the chemical composition of subsurface stratigraphy in lunar basins filled with mare basalt is possible at fresh impact craters. Mg/Al maps from orbital X-ray flourescence measurements of mare areas indicate chemical anomalies associated with materials ejected by large post-mare impacts. A method of constraining the wide-ranging estimates of mare basalt depths using the orbital MG/Al data is evaluated and the results are compared to those of investigators using different indirect methods. Chemical anomalies at impact craters within the maria indicate five locations where higher Mg/Al basalt compositions may have been excavated from beneath the surface layer. At eight other locations, low Mg/Al anomalies suggest that basin-floor material was ejected. In these two cases, the stratigraphic layers are interpreted to occur at depths less than the calculated maximum depth of excavation. In five other cases, there is no apparent chemical change between the crater and the surrounding mare surface. This suggests homogeneous basalt compositions that extend down to the depths sampled, i.e., no anorthositic material that might represent the basin floor was exposed.

Andre, C. G.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Mineralogy of a basaltic clast in lunar highland regolith breccia 60019

Mineralogy of a basaltic clast, Ba-2, found on the cut surface of a new slab of lunar highland regolith breccia 60019 was studied and compared with that of lunar meteorites ALHA81005 and Y791197. The coarse-grained Ba-2 clast consists of Na-bearing plagioclase, high-Ca clinopyroxene, ilmenite, silica, and mesostasis. The mineralogy and chemical zoning trends in the Ba-2 clast suggest that this basalt is similar to the 60639,1 basalt in the Apollo 16 rake samples, and to Luna 16 high-alumina moderate-TiO2 mare basalts; however, olivine is not present in Ba-2. On the basis of these and other findings, and assuming the early formation of the Apollo 16 regolith breccia (as proposed by McKay et al., 1986), it is suggested that B-2 could represent a post-Nectaris lava flow older than the formation of 60019.

Takeda, Hiroshi↗
NASA NTRS1987

Pb, Sr, and Nd isotopes in basalts and sulfides from the Juan de Fuca Ridge

Isotopic Pb, Sr, and Nd data were collected by the Alvin submersible from seven basalt glasses in the southern Juan de Fuca Ridge (JFR), giving similar ratios for Pb-206/Pb-204 of about 18.45, for Pb-207/Pb-204 of about 15.47, for Pb-208/Pb-204 of about 37.81, for Sr-87/Sr-86 of about 0.70249, and for Nd-143/Nd-144 of about 0.51315. Data suggest that the basalts are all cogenetic, and that four of the samples are also comagmatic. It is concluded that isotopic data for the JFR and seamount basalts provide additional support for the mantle blob cluster model (Allegre et al., 1984), suggesting the involvement of multiple components in the genesis of ridge basalts, and including an unusual end-member that has nonradiogenic Sr and variable Pb-206/Pb-204 isotopic compositions.

Hegner, E.↗