Preliminary petrographic description and geologic implications of the Apollo 17 Station 7 boulder consortium samples

Earth and Planetary Science Letters
By: , and 

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Abstract

Preliminary petrographic description and mineral composition of four hand samples (77135, 77115, 77075 and 77215) are presented. 77135, 77115, and 77075 all crystallized from fragment-laden melts; they are similar in textures but differ in grain size. 77135 and 77115 are pigeonite feldspathic basalts. On the basis of geologic and petrographic evidence, 77115 and 77075 are related; they formed, cooled, and consolidated before being engulfed in the vesicular 77135. The impact or igneous origin of the melts from which these rocks crystallized cannot be determined. 77215 is a shocked, strongly sheared and granulated microbreccia consisting of three major lithologies dominated by mineral clasts of orthopyroxene and calcic plagioclase. The orthopyroxene clasts contain coarse exsolved blebs of augite, suggesting a deep-seated origin. The major, minor, and trace element compositions of 77135, 77115, and 77075 are in general similar. They represent a major highland rock type, perhaps more important than anorthosites.

    Publication type Article
    Publication Subtype Journal Article
    Title Preliminary petrographic description and geologic implications of the Apollo 17 Station 7 boulder consortium samples
    Series title Earth and Planetary Science Letters
    DOI 10.1016/0012-821X(74)90130-7
    Volume 23
    Issue 3
    Year Published 1974
    Language English
    Publisher Elsevier
    Description 16 p.
    First page 413
    Last page 428
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