The relationships between geology and soil chemistry at the Apollo 17 landing site

Within the wide compositional range of the Apollo 17 soils, three distinct chemical groups have been recognized, each one corresponding broadly with a major geological and physiographic unit. These groups are: (1) Valley Floor type soils, (2) South Massif type soils, and (3) North Massif type soils. The observed chemical variations within and between these three groups is interpreted by means of mixing models in terms of lateral transport and mixing of prevailing local rock types, such as high-titanium basalts, KREEP-like noritic breccias, anorthositic gabbro breccias and orange glass. According to these models, North Nassif types evolved on the lower slopes of the North Massif and Sculptured Hills where anorthositic gabbro predominates over noritic breccia and where lateral mixing with basalt is effective, whereas the South Massif type soils originally developed on the upper slopes of the South Massif, where anorthositic breccia and noritic breccias are equally abundant, and where lateral mixing with basalt was minimal.