Origin of lead from green glass of Apollo 15426: A search for primitive lunar lead.

Abstract

A major obstacle in lunar U-Pb chronology is the elusiveness of the primary Pb isotopic composition and U/Pb ratio and therefore the Pb evolution for the early history of the moon. In an attempt to seek the primitive lunar Pb isotopic composition, green glass from lunar clod 15426,49 was studied for U-Th-Pb systematics because it is extremely Mg-rich and known to be the most primitive among sampled lunar volcanic rocks. Green glass and yellow impact glass were handpicked, washed with water, then washed in an acid mixture (0.3 N HBr + 0.2 N HF), and the washes and residues were analyzed. In contrast to the Pb from Apollo 17 orange glass, Pb from the surface of the green glass spherules is totally different from that of the spherule interior, but is similar to lunar surface lead. Data for the interior Pb yield a 207 Pb/ 206 Pb age of 3.41 Ga. Because of the low Pb concentration and high U/Pb ratio observed for the interior, the initial Pb was poorly defined. Nevertheless, the data indicate that lunar Pb evolved in an environment with 238 U/ 204 Pb = 19–55, which is considerably lower than those for mare basalts (around 300) but higher than values for the earth (6–8).