Ion microprobe investigation of plagioclase and orthopyroxene from lunar Mg-suite norites: Implications for calculating parental melt REE concentrations and for assessing postcrystallization REE redistribution
- Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Woods Hole, MA (United States)
The lunar Mg-suite, which includes dunites, troctolites, and norites, makes up to 20-30% of the Moon`s crust down to a depth of {approximately}60 km. The remainder is largely anorthosite. This report focuses on norites (which consist mostly of orthopyroxene and plagioclase) because we have found that both phases are effective recorders of their parental melt compositions. In an earlier report, we analyzed orthopyroxene from twelve samples (three from Apollo 14, two from A-15, and seven from A-17) by orthopyroxene from twelve samples (three from Apollo 14, two from A-15, and seven from A-17) by SIMS for eight REE (La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Eu, Dy, Er, Yb). Inversion of these data to estimated melt compositions yielded extremely high REE concentrations similar to KREEP. In this study, we report SIMS REE data for plagioclase from these same twelve samples. The major objective of this study is to estimate parental REE concentrations from both orthopyroxene and plagioclase data to see if both data inversions produce concordant from both orthopyroxene and plagioclase data to see if both data inversions produce concordant melt compositions and thus better constrain the composition of melts parental to Mg-suite norites. The estimated REE concentrations from both phases show some evidence of slight postcrystallization REE redistribution. Comparison of the observed ratio of REE for pyroxene/plagioclase to the ratio of the Ds for pyroxene/plagioclase is consistent with REE redistribution which involves LREE diffusing from pyroxene into plagioclase and HREE diffusing from plagioclase into pyroxene. However, apparently these postcrystallization exchanges have not seriously affected our ability to estimate melt REE concentrations. 34 refs., 7 figs., 5 tabs.
- OSTI ID:
- 577450
- Journal Information:
- Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 60, Issue 20; Other Information: PBD: Oct 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Ion and electron microprobe study of troctolites, norite, and anorthosites from Apollo 14: Evidence for urKREEP assimilation during petrogenesis of Apollo 14 Mg-suite rocks
Subsolidus REE partitioning between pyroxene and plagioclase in cumulative eucrites: An ion microprobe investigation