Distinguishing between Apollo 14 impact melt and pristine mare basalt samples by geochemical and textural analyses of olivine

Abstract

Apollo 14 (A-14) impact melt olivine vitrophyres (OVs), composed of olivine phenocrysts in an opaque glass matrix with minor amounts of pyroxene and plagioclase, are petrographically similar to pristine quenched A-14 high-alumina (high-Al) and Apollo 12 (A-12) basalts. Textural and chemical analyses have been conducted on olivines within impact melt and pristine mare basalt clasts from A-14 breccia 14321 as well as various olivine-phyric Apollo 12 and 17 basalts to be able to distinguish between the petrographically similar samples. The A-14 high-Al basalts examined here represent samples from each of the three chemical groups (A, B, C). Examples from the three A-12 basalt suites (Ilmenite, Olivine, Pigeonite) and olivine-rich Apollo 17 (A-17) Type C basalt, 74275, have also been analyzed. As a complement to the chemical analyses, crystal size distributions (CSDs) were determined for approximately half of the samples investigated here (due to a small number of olivine crystals that did not produce statistically meaningful CSDs on half of the samples), and confirm that although similar, the basalts and impact melts are texturally distinct. Olivines from A-14 impact melts have the highest average forsterite contents (average Fo ∼0.82) and generally the lowest average Co (37ppm) and Mn (1544ppm) abundances, thus chemically distinguishing them from the pristine basalts. In addition, chemical compositions obtained for olivine from 14321,1486 are most likely representative of an impact melt and thus contradict its previous classification as a high-Al basalt (Neal et al., 1988); olivine from, 1486 have similar average forsterite (average Fo ∼0.82) and Ti/V-ratio to the OVs. Furthermore, on the basis of their chemical compositions, olivines have been identified within the impact melts that are likely inherited from basalts; these olivines are chemically distinct from the rest of the impact melt olivine population with lower forsterite (0.67–0.80) and low Ti/V (∼10), which are similar to olivine compositions from the A-14 high-Al basalts. In addition to distinguishing between sample types from A-14, olivine compositions can also be used to distinguish between pristine mare basalts from various missions. Olivine within the selected samples from the individual A-12 basalt suites can also be distinguished chemically from one another using the Ti/V ratio, where Olivine suite basalts have Ti/V <3 and Ilmenite suite basalts have Ti/V >3.5. The results indicate that combined use of CSDs and chemical analyses of olivine can be used to reliably distinguish between (1) impact melts and pristine Apollo 14 basalts, (2) basalts from different landing sites, and (3) individual basalt suites from a single site.