Ion microprobe studies of trace elements in Apollo 14 volcanic glass beads: Comparisons to Apollo 14 mare basalts and petrogenesis of picritic magmas

Abstract

The major element geochemistry of picritic lunar glass beads indicates that they represent primary basaltic liquid compositions and, as such, provide unique information concerning the origin of mare basalts and characteristics of the lunar interior. This study used ion microprobe techniques for trace element analysis of individual glass beads representing seven compositionally distinct types of picritic glass beads from the Apollo 14 site [high-Ti glasses (17–11% TiO 2): Red/Black, Orange; intermediate-Ti glasses (5–4% TiO 2): Yellow; low-Ti glasses (2.8% TiO 2): LAP (low alkali, picritic; Papike et al., 1989); very low-Ti glasses (<1% TiO 2): Green A, VLT, Green B]. The Green B, Green A, VLT, and LAP glasses are typically LREE enriched. The total REE abundance of Green A, VLT, and LAP overlap (Ce = 30 to 80 × chondrite) whereas the REE abundances of the more MgO-rich Green B are substantially lower (Ce = 8 to 18 × chondrite). The trace element signature [REE patterns and abundances, ( Ba Sr ) > 1 ] of these glasses are different from low-Ti mare basalts at other sites but are similar to crystalline basalts at the Apollo 14 site. The intermediate to high-Ti picritic glasses exhibit a flat to slightly positive LREE slope and a negative HREE slope. The Orange glass has a higher total REE abundance and a slightly larger negative Eu anomaly than the Red/Black and Yellow glasses. Relative to the Apollo 17 high-Ti glasses, Apollo 14 high-Ti glasses are enriched in REE, LREE/HREE, Y, V, Zr, Sr, Ba, and Ba Sr and are similar in alkali elements (Li, Rb), Co, and Sc. Trace element modeling, within the context of liquid lines of descent and major element characteristics, indicates that the picritic glass beads at the A-14 site are not related by low pressure fractional crystallization to each other or to crystalline basalts at the Apollo 14 or other landing sites. A possible exception is the relationship between LAP and basalts of the high-Al basalt suite. The wide range of primary magma compositions and the lack of petrogenetic linkage (via crystal fractionation) to crystalline basalts indicates that either a wide compositional range of evolved mare basalts has not yet been sampled or a unique mechanism is selectively tapping these picritic magmas directly from their mantle source region. The wide range of major and trace element characteristics of the volcanic glass beads is consistent with derivation from mineralogically distinct sources which consist of varying proportions of olivine + orthopyroxene ± clinopyroxene ± ilmenite ± plagioclase ± KREEP component. The evolved KREEP component may have been incorporated into these primary picritic magmas by either assimilation-fractional crystallization-type processes (AFC) or by hybridization of the mantle source. The former appears less likely due to the general systematic increase in incompatible elements relative to Ti concentration and the apparent lack of crystallization that is required in AFC-type models. The hybridization processes may be the result of “sinker” mechanisms as proposed by Ringwood and Kesson (1976), a manifestation of original mantle inhomogeneities, or a magma ocean stirred by large impacts.