Sulfur in lunar mare basalts as a function of bulk compositionSulfur abundances and metallic iron abundances in 18 Apollo 12 mare basalts were determined. No correlation between sulfur abundance and metallic iron content was detected; metallic iron abundances are not primarily caused by S loss. Sulfur abundances, directly related to the bulk composition of the rocks and especially to the TiO2 content, increase with increasing degrees of fractionation and appear to result from S concentration in the melts during fractionation. Unlike the Apollo 17 melts, the Apollo 12 melts were unsaturated with respect to sulfide. Composition appears to control S content for Apollo 17 basalts, and cumulus processes may cause Fe-FeS enrichment.
Document ID
19780057734
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Authors
Gibson, E. K., Jr. (NASA Johnson Space Center Geochemistry Branch, Houston, Tex., United States)
Brett, R. (U.S. Geological Survey Reston, Va., United States)
Andrawes, F. (Lockheed Electronics Co., Inc. Houston, Tex., United States)