Intracrystalline cation order in a lunar crustal troctoliteLunar sample 76535 appears to be one of the most slowly cooled bits of silicate material yet studied. It provides, therefore, a unique opportunity for the study of ordering processes in the minerals present. A better understanding of these processes may permit better characterization of the thermal history of this and similar rocks. The cation ordering in the olivine is consistent with terrestrial olivines favoring the interpretation that ordering in olivines increases with increasing temperature. In low bronzite, the deviations from the common orthopyroxene space group appear to be caused by cation order on the basis of four M sites instead of two. The degree of cation order in each of these minerals is consistent with the rock having been excavated from its depth of formation by tectonic or impact processes without being reheated above 300 C.
Document ID
19780062738
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Authors
Smyth, J. R. (Lunar and Planetary Institute Houston, Tex., United States)