40AR/39Ar ages of six Apollo 15 impact melt rocks by laser step heating

Abstract

We have obtained 15 high resolution (21–51 step) 40Ar/39 age spectra on six Apollo 15 impact melt rocks of different compositions using a continuous laser system on submilligram subsamples and on single crystal plagioclase clasts. Four of the six samples gave reproducible age spectra with well‐defined intermediate temperature plateaus over 48% or more of the 39Ar released; the plateaus are interpreted as crystallization ages. Samples 15304,7,69, 15294,6,21, and 15314,26,156 gave virtually identical plateau ages whose weighted mean is 3,870±6 Ma. These three melt rocks differ in composition and likely formed in three separate impact events. Sample 15356,9 gave replicate plateau ages that average 3,836±12 Ma and date a fourth and younger impact event. The age spectra for samples 15308,9 and 15414,3,36 increase with increasing increment temperature and may have been formed in or affected by impacts at about 2,700 Ma and 3,870 Ma, respectively. So far there continues to be no convincing evidence in the lunar record for impact melts older than about 3.9 Ga.