The Apollo 15 yellow impact glasses - Chemistry, petrology, and exotic originThe Apollo 15 yellow impact glasses are characterized by moderate TiO2 (about 4.8%) and high abundances of the large ion lithophile elements (e.g., K, P, Hf, Th, REE). Since the chemistry of these glasses cannot be duplicated by any combination of local components presently known to occur at the Apollo 15 landing site, these yellow glasses seem to be exotic to that area. Chemical and petrologic constraints suggest that these samples were produced by impact melting of an immature mare regolith developed upon an unusual variety of mare basalt. It is speculated that the target basalts were the youngest lava flows known to exist on the moon (i.e., Eratosthenian-age lavas in Oceanus Procellarum and Mare Imbrium). Specific tests are proposed for evaluating this provocative hypothesis.
Document ID
19830034124
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Authors
Delano, J. W. (State Univ. of New York Stony Brook, NY, United States)
Lindsley, D. H. (New York, State University Stony Brook, NY, United States)
Ma, M.-S. (United States Testing Co., Inc. Richland, WA, United States)
Schmitt, R. A. (Oregon State University Corvallis, OR, United States)