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New Evidence for 4.32 Ga Ancient Silicic Volcanism on the Moon
Author(s) -
Zeng Xiaojia,
Li Xiongyao,
Xia XiaoPing,
Liu Jianzhong,
Cui Zexian,
Yu Wen,
Ouyang Ziyuan
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2021gl092639
Subject(s) - silicic , geology , breccia , basalt , meteorite , geochemistry , geology of the moon , volcanism , astrobiology , impact crater , lunar mare , earth science , paleontology , physics , tectonics
The currently available Apollo‐returned granitic lithology is restricted to only the nearside of the Moon (e.g., Procellarum KREEP Terrane [PKT]). In contrast, lunar meteorites represent randomly ejected crustal material, and they extend our understanding of the lunar magmatic history through time and space. Here, we report a 4,321.5 ± 5.2 Ma (2σ) granitic fragment found in lunar basaltic breccia meteorite Northwest Africa (NWA) 10,447, which is compositionally similar to the regoliths from the Moon's Non‐PKT regions. This granitic fragment has crystallization age similar to the oldest (∼4.32 Ga) granites sampled during the Apollo 12 and 17 missions, and adds to the growing evidence of ancient silicic volcanism on the Moon. In addition, this newly identified granitic fragment in the Th‐ and TiO 2 ‐ poor breccia NWA 10447 provides evidence for that lunar granite may occur outside of the PKT of the Moon (i.e., the mare region with low Th and TiO 2 contents).