Regolith maturation on the earth and the moon with an example from Apollo 15Petrographic data on twelve Apollo 15 surface samples and on twelve samples from the double drive tube 15010/011 are presented in the form of triangular AML (agglutinate-monomineralic fragments-lithic fragments) plots. The triangular AML plots for different grain sizes show smoothly varying contour lines only for the solids derived mainly from mare basalts. These contour lines are interpreted as lines of isomaturity. The AML plots with isomature contours are somewhat similar to QFR (quartz-feldspar-rock fragments) triangular plots used for terrestrial clastic sediments. Both kinds of plots are sensitive to maturity and both may be used to predict evolution paths. Soils from predominantly highland areas and from other mixed terrains at Apollo 15 sites do not make smooth contours on AML diagrams. By analogy with QFR diagrams, the lack of smooth contours may be due to mixed source rock families, or to recent mixing, or both.
Document ID
19820048166
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Authors
Basu, A. (Indiana Univ. Bloomington, IN, United States)
Griffiths, S. A. (Indiana University Bloomington, IN, United States)
Mckay, D. S. (NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Nace, G. (Lockheed Engineering and Management Services Co., Inc. Houston, TX, United States)