The chlorine isotope fingerprint of the lunar magma ocean
The chlorine isotope fingerprint of the lunar magma ocean
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Date
2015-09-25
Authors
Boyce, Jeremy W.
Treiman, Allan H.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8073-2839
Guan, Yunbin
Ma, Chi
Eiler, John M.
Gross, Juliane
Greenwood, James P.
Stolper, Edward M.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Abstract
The Moon contains chlorine that is isotopically unlike that of any other body yet studied in the Solar System, an observation that has been interpreted to support traditional models of the formation of a nominally hydrogen-free ("dry") Moon. We have analyzed abundances and isotopic compositions of Cl and H in lunar mare basalts, and find little evidence that anhydrous lava outgassing was important in generating chlorine isotope anomalies, because 37Cl/35Cl ratios are not related to Cl abundance, H abundance, or D/H ratios in a manner consistent with the lava-outgassing hypothesis. Instead, 37Cl/35Cl correlates positively with Cl abundance in apatite, as well as with whole-rock Th abundances and La/Lu ratios, suggesting that the high 37Cl/35Cl in lunar basalts is inherited from urKREEP, the last dregs of the lunar magma ocean.
Description
Keywords
Moon,
Chlorine,
Water,
Apatite,
Basalt
Citation
Boyce J.W., Guan Y., Ma C., Eiler J.M., Stolper E.M., Boyce J.W., et al. 2015. "The chlorine isotope fingerprint of the lunar magma ocean". Science Advances. 1 (8).