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Silicate melt inclusions and glasses in lunar soil fragments from the Luna 16 core sample

E. Roedder·P.W. Weiblen
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Abstract

More than 2000 fragments were studied microscopically, and electron microprobe analyses were made of 39 selected areas, from a few square mm of polished surface, through 75- to 425-μm fragments of lunar soil from two samples of the Luna 16 core. The silicate melt inclusions and glasses differ in important details from those observed earlier in the Apollo samples. Melt inclusions in olivine contain epitaxially oriented daughter crystals, but also show a similar epitaxy around the outside of the crystals not observed in previous lunar samples. Melt inclusions in ilmenite suggest trapping at successive stages in a differentiation sequence. There is abundant evidence for late-stage silicate liquid immiscibility, with melt compositions similar but not identical to those from Apollo 11 and 12. A comparison of the alkali ratio of any given bulk rock analysis with that of its late-stage, high-silica melt shows gross differences for different rocks. This is pertinent to understanding late-stage differentiation processes. Glass fragments and spherules exhibit a wide range of crystallization textures, reflecting their wide range of compositions and cooling histories. No significant differences were found between the two portions of core examined (Zones A and D).

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E. Roedder, P.W. Weiblen. 1972. Silicate melt inclusions and glasses in lunar soil fragments from the Luna 16 core sample. https://doi.org/10.1016/0012-821x(72)90103-3

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