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{sup 41}Ca, {sup 26}Al, and {sup 10}Be in lunar basalt 74275 and {sup 10}Be in the double drive tube 74002/74001

Journal Article · · Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
 [1]; ;  [2]; ;  [3];  [4]
  1. ANSTO, Menai, New South Wales (Australia). Physics Div.
  2. Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (United States). Dept. of Physics
  3. Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, NJ (United States). Dept. of Chemistry
  4. Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)

The authors report depth profiles of the cosmogenic radionuclides {sup 10}Be, {sup 26}Al, and {sup 41}Ca in the titanium-rich lunar basalt 74275. The {sup 10}Be profile is flat: {sup 10}Be activities are confined to a narrow range between 9.6 and 11.2 dpm/kg but are nonetheless consistent with a small contribution of about 1--2 dpm/kg from solar cosmic rays. The {sup 26}Al profile shows the steep decrease with increasing depth that is characteristic of nuclides whose production is dominated by solar cosmic rays. {sup 41}Ca activities decrease from about 22 dpm/kg at the surface to a minimum of {approximately}9 dpm/kg at a depth of 4.7 g/cm{sup 2} and then increase to {approximately}11 dpm/kg at a depth of 15.8 g/cm{sup 2}. The sharp decrease near the surface identifies for the first time production of {sup 41}Ca by solar cosmic rays. The authors also report {sup 10}Be measurements for six samples from lunar core 74002/1. The {sup 10}Be activities range from approximately 8 to 14 dpm/kg. They model the production of {sup 10}Be, {sup 26}Al, and {sup 41}Ca in lunar rock 74275 by including published data that indicate a long exposure to galactic cosmic rays at a depth of 140 g/cm{sup 2} followed by one at the surface lasting 2.8 Ma. Cosmogenic radionuclide production by galactic cosmic rays, and, in the case of {sup 41}Ca, by thermal neutrons is estimated from published measurements and semi-empirical calculations. The model includes a new calculation of production rates due to solar cosmic rays and incorporates recently published cross section measurements.

Sponsoring Organization:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC (United States); USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
OSTI ID:
655494
Journal Information:
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Journal Name: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta Journal Issue: 13 Vol. 62; ISSN GCACAK; ISSN 0016-7037
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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