Glasses in the Luna 24 core and petrogenesis of ferrobasaltsModal abundance and major- and minor-element chemical analysis of homogeneous, non-agglutinitic mare and non-mare glasses from the Luna 24 drill core show that most glasses can be related to known rock types. Mare glasses include: brown glass identical in composition to the fine-grained low-Mg VLT basalt; green glass which might be related to a coarser-grained ferrogabbro; a high-K green glass; and a high-Ti orange glass. Highland glass compositions include Highland basalt, gabbroic anorthosite, and pure anorthosite (i.e. plagioclase); minor Fra Mauro-type glass may also be present. It is apparent that fractional crystallization of some primitive basaltic magma occurred at Mare Crisium producing a chemically evolved ferrobasalt and related glasses. An early, high-Mg basin fill, as represented by the olivine vitrophyres, may be the parent magma. Subsequent near-surface fractionation produced a multiply-saturated liquid that finally erupted as the ferrobasalt flows sampled by Luna 24.
Document ID
19790048510
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Authors
Norman, M. (Tennessee Univ. Knoxville, TN, United States)
Coish, R. A. (Tennessee Univ. Knoxville, TN, United States)
Taylor, L. A. (Tennessee, University Knoxville, Tenn., United States)
Date Acquired
August 9, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1978
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Exploration
Meeting Information
Meeting: Mare Crisium: The view from Luna 24; Conference