Abundancies of Ni, Cr, CO and major elements in the silicate portion of the Moon: Constraints from primary lunar magmas

The lunar volcanic glasses are samples of primary magnas derived by partial melting of the Moon mantle. The twenty-seven varieties of glass define three linear arrays having nearly constant Mg/Si ratios. The low-Ti magmas in each array approach the chondritic Ti/Al ratio. In addition, the Ca/Al ration in these low-Ti magmas trends toward the chrondritid value as one proceeds from array 1 through array 3. Using the chemistries of these primary magmas, as well as the assumption that the Moon possesses chondritic Ca/Al/Ti/Mg ratios, the silicate composition of the Moon has been estimated. The implications of these results are discussed.