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Clementine spectral reflectance and compositional data, Lunar Prospector gamma ray and neutron spectrometer data, and sample analysis of lunar soils are used to examine the origin of high-Th in Eratosthenian basalts of the Procellarum KREEP. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.
The absolute and relative abundances of the highly siderophile elements (HSE) present in planetary mantles are primarily controlled by: 1) silicate-metal partitioning during core-mantle differentiation, 2) the subsequent addition of HSE to mantles via continued planetary accretion. Consequently, constraints on the absolute and relative abundances of the HSE in the lunar mantle will provide unique insights to the formation and late accretionary history of not only the Moon, but also Earth. Determining the HSE content of the lunar mantle, however, has proven difficult, because no bona fide mantle rocks have been collected from the moon. The only materials presently available for constraining mantle abundances are lunar volcanic rocks. Lunar basalts typically have very low concentrations of HSE and highly fractionated HSE patterns. Because of our extremely limited understanding of mantle melt partitioning of the HSE, even for terrestrial systems, extrapolations to mantle compositions from basaltic compositions are difficult, except possibly for the less compatible HSE Pt and Pd. Primitive, presumably less fractionated materials, such as picritic glasses are potentially more diagnostic of the lunar interior. Here we report Os isotopic composition data and Re, Os, Ir, Ru, Pt and Pd concentration data for green glass (15426,164) and orange glass (74001,1217). As with previous studies utilizing neutron activation analysis, we are examining different size fractions of the spherules to assess the role of surface condensation in the generation of the HSE abundances.
We report compositional data for two new lunar meteorites collected during the 2002 03 ANSMET (Antarctic Search for Meteorites) field season, LAP 02205 and PCA 02007.
Spinel can be a significant host phase for V as well as other transition metals such as Ni and Co. However, vanadium has multiple oxidation states V(2+), V(3+), V(4+) or V(5+) at oxygen fugacities relevant to natural systems. We do know that D(V) spinel/melt is correlated with V and TiO2 content and fO2, but the uncertainty of the oxidation state under the range of natural conditions has made elusive a thorough understanding of D(V) spinel/melt. For example, V(3+) is likely to be stable in spinels, based on exchange with Al in experiments in the CaO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2 system. On the other hand, it has been argued that V(4+) will be stable across the range of natural oxygen fugacities in nature. In order to gain a better understanding of D(V) spinel/melt we have equilibrated spinel-melt pairs at controlled oxygen fugacities, between HM to NNO, where V is present in the spinel at natural levels (approx. 300 ppm V). These spinel-melt pairs were analyzed using micro-XANES at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory. The new results will be used together with spinel compositional data (Ti, V content) and oxygen fugacity, to unravel the effects of these variables on D(V) spinel/melt.
As a project that is part of NASA s Astrobiology Technology & Instrument Development Program (ASTID), we are developing a low mass (approx.20kg) drill that will be operated without drilling fluids and at very low power levels (approx.60 watts electrical) to access and retrieve samples from permafrost regions of Earth and Mars. The drill, designed and built as a joint effort by NASA JSC and Baker-Hughes International, takes the form of a down-hole unit attached to a cable so that it can, in principle, be scaled easily to reach significant depths. A parallel laboratory effort is being carried out at UC Berkeley to characterize the physics of dry drilling under martian conditions of pressure, temperature and atmospheric composition. Data from the UCB and JSC laboratory experiments are being used as input to a drill simulation program which is under development to provide autonomous control of the drill. The first Arctic field test of the unit is planned for May 2004. A field expedition to Eureka on Ellesmere Island in Spring 2003 provided an introduction for several team members to the practical aspects of drilling under Arctic conditions. The field effort was organized by Wayne Pollard of McGill University and Christopher McKay of NASA ARC. A conventional science drill provided by New Zealand colleagues was used to recover ground ice cores for analysis of their microbial content and also to develop techniques using tracers to track the depth of penetration of contamination from the core surface into the interior of the samples.
The Mars Exploration Rover (MER) "Opportunity" has explored chemically-enriched sedimentary outcrops at Meridiani Planum, Mars. In its first year, three different crater sites - Eagle, Fram and Endurance - have been explored. Nineteen high-interest outcrop rocks were investigated by first grinding a hole to reach the interior (using the Rock Abrasion Tool, RAT), and then conducting APXS (alpha particle x-ray spectrometry) analysis, MB (M ssbauer) analysis, and close up imaging (MI, microscopic imager). Sixteen elements and four Fe-bearing minerals were assayed to good accuracy in each sample, producing 380 compositional data points. The Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini- TES) obtained spectra on outcrop materials which provide direct indication of several mineral classes. Preliminary reports on Eagle crater and three RAT samples have been published. Chemical trends and a derived mineralogical model for all RAT d outcrop samples to date has been developed.
ChemCam consists of two remote sensing instruments. One, a Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument provides rapid elemental composition data on rocks and soils within 13 m of the rover. By using laser pulses, it can remove dust or profile through weathering layers remotely. The other instrument, the Remote Micro-Imager (RMI), provides the highest resolution images between 2 m and infinity. At approximately 80 Rad field of view, its resolution exceeds that of MER Pancam by at least a factor of four. The ChemCam instruments are described in a companion paper by Maurice et al. Here we present the science objectives for the ChemCam instrument package.
ChemCam consists of two remote sensing instruments. One, a Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument provides rapid elemental composition data on rocks and soils within 13 m of the rover. By using laser pulses, it can remove dust or profile through weathering layers remotely. The other instrument, the Remote Micro-Imager (RMI), provides the highest resolution images between 2 m and infinity. At approximately 80 Rad field of view, its resolution exceeds that of MER Pancam by at least a factor of four. The ChemCam instruments are described in a companion paper by Maurice et al. [1]. Here we present the science objectives for the ChemCam instrument package.
The highly siderophile elements (HSE) include Re, Os, Ir, Ru, Pt and Pd. These elements are initially nearly-quantitatively stripped from planetary silicate mantles during core segregation. They then may be re-enriched in mantles via continued accretion sans continued core segregation. This suite of elements and its included long-lived radiogenic isotopes systems (Re-187 (right arrow) Os-187; Pt-190 (right arrow) Os-186) can potentially be used to fingerprint the characteristics of late accreted materials. The fingerprints may ultimately be useful to constrain the prior nebular history of the dominant late accreted materials, and to compare the proportion and genesis of late accretionary materials added to the inner planets. The past ten years have seen considerable accumulation of isotopic and compositional data for HSE present in the Earth's mantle, lunar mantle and impact melt breccias, and Martian meteorites. Here we review some of these data and consider the broader implications of the compiled data.
We use ion-composition data from ACE/ULEIS, low energy electrons from ACE/EPAM, high energy protons from SoHO/ERNE, radio data from Wind/WAVES, and solar wind data from ACE/SWEPAM and ACE/MAG to investigate the solar and interplanetary circumstances near the times of passage of near-Earth shocks. We are particularly interested in claims that local acceleration by some interplanetary shocks produces Fe/O > 0.3 ('Fe-rich' shocks). The choice of the specific interval used to calculate the Fe/O ratio is extremely important because shock-accelerated particles can be masked by particles from flare events, related or unrelated to the shock, that have Fe/O > 0.3. We conclude that shock- accelerated populations have Fe/0<0.3. We illustrate 5 events which have been reported to be Fe-rich and for which Fe/O increases with energy in the 0.5-2 MeV/nuc range. We find that in each case there are direct flare particles included in the averaging time interval. We also demonstrate that the Fe/O ratio increases as a result of the averaging time interval being too large.
Reanalysis of the Apollo 15 A, B, and C green glass beads from slide 15426,72, led to the discovery of patchy, highly vesicular glass rims adhering to beads. These rims are high in S and Ni and low in MgO, but otherwise compositionally similar to the green glasses. We find that these rims represent a unique melt composition that places constraints on lunar magmatic processes. Combining the compositional data for the vesicular glass rims with new minor element data for the green glass beads leads us to hypothesize that the vesicular rim fluid originated near the green glass source, at about 2.2 GPa. These findings support the theory of a heterogeneous lunar mantle, and suggest that sulfur did not drive the eruption from depth, but that degassing volatiles into the vacuum did drive the final fire fountain eruption.
The Spirit rover landed on geologic units of Hesperian age in Gusev Crater. The Columbia Hills rise above the surrounding plains materials, but orbital images show that the Columbia Hills are older [1, 2]. Spirit has recently descended the southeast slope of the Columbia Hills doing detailed measurements of a series of outcrops. The mineralogical and compositional data on these rocks are consistent with an interpretation as a magmatic sequence becoming increasingly olivine-rich down slope. The outcrop sequence is Larry s Bench, Seminole, Algonquin and Comanche. The "teeth" on the Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT) wore away prior to arrival at Larry s Bench; the data discussed are for RAT brushed surfaces.
New results are presented of Cassini's T9 flyby with complementary observations from T18. Based on Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) and Cassini Magnetometer (MAG) data, compositional evidence shows the upstream flow for both T9 and T18 is composed of light ions (H(+) and H2(+), with external pressures 30 times lower than that for the earlier TA flyby where heavy ions dominated the magnetospheric plasma. When describing the plasma heating and sputtering of Titan's atmosphere, T9 and T18 can be considered interactions of low magnetospheric energy input. Perpendicular temperature over parallel temperature anisotropy varied between 1 and 3 for upstream flow. The upstream flow is perpendicular to B, indicative of local picked up ions from Titan"s H and H2 coronae extending to Titan's Hill sphere radius. Beyond this distance the corona form a neutral torus that surrounds Saturn. The T9 flyby unexpectedly resulted in observation of two "wake" crossings referred to as Events 1 and 2. Event 2 was evidently caused by draped magnetosphere field lines which are scavenging pickup ions from Titan's induced magnetopause boundary with outward flux 3.0e6 ions/cm2/s. The composition of this out flow is dominated by H2(+) and H(+) ions. Ionospheric flow away from Titan with ion flux 1.2e7 ion/cm2 /s is observed for Event 1. In between Events 1 and 2 are high energy field aligned flows of magnetosphere protons. T18 observations are much closer to Titan than T9, allowing one to probe this type of interaction down to altitudes 950 km. Comparisons with previously reported hybrid simulations are made.
The first systematic lunar geologic maps were completed at 1:1M scale for the lunar near side during the 1960s using telescopic and Lunar Orbiter (LO) photographs [1-3]. The program under which these maps were completed established precedents for map base, scale, projection, and boundaries in order to avoid widely discrepant products. A variety of geologic maps were subsequently produced for various purposes, including 1:5M scale global maps [4-9] and large scale maps of high scientific interest (including the Apollo landing sites) [10]. Since that time, lunar science has benefitted from an abundance of surface information, including high resolution images and diverse compositional data sets, which have yielded a host of topical planetary investigations. The existing suite of lunar geologic maps and topical studies provide exceptional context in which to unravel the geologic history of the Moon. However, there has been no systematic approach to lunar geologic mapping since the flight of post-Apollo scientific orbiters. Geologic maps provide a spatial and temporal framework wherein observations can be reliably benchmarked and compared. As such, a lack of a systematic mapping program means that modern (post- Apollo) data sets, their scientific ramifications, and the lunar scientists who investigate these data, are all marginalized in regard to geologic mapping. Marginalization weakens the overall understanding of the geologic evolution of the Moon and unnecessarily partitions lunar research. To bridge these deficiencies, we began a pilot geologic mapping project in 2005 as a means to assess the interest, relevance, and technical methods required for a renewed lunar geologic mapping program [11]. Herein, we provide a summary of the pilot geologic mapping project, which focused on the geologic materials and stratigraphic relationships within the Copernicus quadrangle (0-30degN, 0-45degW).
The Cassini-Huygens Probe Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer (GCMS) determined the composition of the Titan atmosphere from ~140km altitude to the surface. After landing, it returned composition data of gases evaporated from the surface. Height profiles of molecular nitrogen (N2), methane (CH4) and molecular hydrogen (H2) were determined. Traces were detected on the surface of evaporating methane, ethane (C2H6), acetylene (C2H2), cyanogen (C2N2) and carbon dioxide (CO2). The methane data showed evidence that methane precipitation occurred recently. The methane mole fraction was (1.48+/-0.09) x 10(exp -2) in the lower stratosphere (139.8 km to 75.5 km) and (5.65+/-0.18) x 10(exp -2) near the surface (6.7 km to the surface). The molecular hydrogen mole fraction was (1.01+/-0.16) x 10(exp -3) in the atmosphere and (9.90+/-0.17) x 10(exp -4) on the surface. Isotope ratios were 167.7+/-0.6 for N-14/N-15 in molecular nitrogen, 91.1+/-1.4 for C-12/C-13 in methane and (1.35+/-0.30) x 10(exp -4) for D/H in molecular hydrogen. The mole fractions of Ar-36 and radiogenic Ar-40 are (2.1+/-0.8) x 10(exp -7) and (3.39 +/-0.12) x 10(exp -5) respectively. Ne-22 has been tentatively identified at a mole fraction of (2.8+/-2.1) x 10(exp -7) Krypton and xenon were below the detection threshold of 1 x 10(exp -8) mole fraction. Science data were not retrieved from the gas chromatograph subsystem as the abundance of the organic trace gases in the atmosphere and on the ground did not reach the detection threshold. Results previously published from the GCMS experiment are superseded by this publication.
The present study statistically examines the characteristics of energetic ions in the plasma sheet using the Geotail/Energetic Particle and Ion Composition data. An emphasis is placed on the O+ ions, and the characteristics of the H+ ions are used as references. The following is a summary of the results. (1) The average O+ energy is lower during solar maximum and higher during solar minimum. A similar tendency is also found for the average H+ energy, but only for geomagnetically active times; (2) The O+ -to -H+ ratios of number and energy densities are several times higher during solar maximum than during solar minimum; (3) The average H+ and O+ energies and the O+ -to -H+ ratios of number and energy densities all increase with geomagnetic activity. The differences among different solar phases not only persist but also increase with increasing geomagnetic activity; (4) Whereas the average H+ energy increases toward Earth, the average O+ energy decreases toward Earth. The average energy increases toward dusk for both the H+ and O+ ions; (5) The O+ -to -H+ ratios of number and energy densities increase toward Earth during all solar phases, but most clearly during solar maximum. These results suggest that the solar illumination enhances the ionospheric outflow more effectively with increasing geomagnetic activity and that a significant portion of the O+ ions is transported directly from the ionosphere to the near ]Earth region rather than through the distant tail.
Large sources of aerosol particles and their precursors are ubiquitous in East Asia. Such sources are known to impact the South China Sea (henceforth SCS), a sometimes heavily polluted region that has been suggested as particularly vulnerable to climate change. To help elucidate springtime aerosol transport into the SCS, an intensive study was performed on the remote Dongsha (aka Pratas) Islands Atoll in spring 2010. As part of this deployment, a Davis Rotating-drum Uniform size-cut Monitor (DRUM) cascade impactor was deployed to collect size-resolved aerosol samples at the surface that were analyzed by X-ray fluorescence for concentrations of selected elements. HYSPLIT backtrajectories indicated that the transport of aerosol observed at the surface at Dongsha was occurring primarily from regions generally to the north and east. This observation was consistent with the apparent persistence of pollution and dust aerosol, along with sea salt, in the ground-based dataset. In contrast to the sea-level observations, modeled aerosol transport suggested that the westerly flow aloft (w700 hPa) transported smoke-laden air toward the site from regions from the south and west. Measured aerosol optical depth at the site was highest during time periods of modeled heavy smoke loadings aloft. These periods did not coincide with elevated aerosol concentrations at the surface, although the model suggested sporadic mixing of this free-tropospheric aerosol to the surface over the SCS. A biomass burning signature was not clearly identified in the surface aerosol composition data, consistent with this aerosol type remaining primarily aloft and not mixing strongly to the surface during the study. Significant vertical wind shear in the region also supports the idea that different source regions lead to varying aerosol impacts in different vertical layers, and suggests the potential for considerable vertical inhomogeneity in the SCS aerosol environment.
Opportunity has investigated in detail rocks on the rim of the Noachian age Endeavour crater, where orbital spectral reflectance signatures indicate the presence of Fe(+3)-rich smectites. The signatures are associated with fine-grained, layered rocks containing spherules of diagenetic or impact origin. The layered rocks are overlain by breccias, and both units are cut by calcium sulfate veins precipitated from fluids that circulated after the Endeavour impact. Compositional data for fractures in the layered rocks suggest formation of Al-rich smectites by aqueous leaching. Evidence is thus preserved for water-rock interactions before and after the impact, with aqueous environments of slightly acidic to circum-neutral pH that would have been more favorable for prebiotic chemistry and microorganisms than those recorded by younger sulfate-rich rocks at Meridiani Planum.