Premium
Antarctic Meteorite ALHA 81005, A piece from the ancient lunar crust
Author(s) -
Palme H.,
Spettel B.,
Weckwerth G.,
Wänke H.
Publication year - 1983
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/gl010i009p00817
Subject(s) - meteorite , geology , crust , neutron activation analysis , geochemistry , astrobiology , earth science , mineralogy , radiochemistry , physics , chemistry
A 128 mg sample of the Antarctic meteorite ALHA 81005 was analysed for major, and trace elements by instrumental neutron activation techniques. The meteorite, or at least its major components, may be older than 4 billion years and represent a piece of the ancient lunar crust, before the formation of the large basins on the front‐side of the Moon. The evidence is derived from the low absolute content of incompatible elements and their slightly different fractionation pattern from KREEP, the dominant source for these elements on the front‐side. The basically chondritic pattern of siderophile elements (Ni, Co, Ir, Au) is clearly distinguished from younger, basin related, meteoritic components.