Argon-40/ Argon-39 Dating of Lunar Rock Samples
Author:
- 30 January 1970
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 167 (3918) , 466-468
Abstract
Seven crystalline rock samples returned by Apollo 11 have been analyzed in detail by means of the 40 Ar- 39 Ar dating technique. The extent of radiogenic argon loss in these samples ranges from 7 percent to ≥ 48 percent. Potassium-argon ages, corrected for the effects of this loss, cluster relatively closely around the value of 3.7 × 10 9 years. Most of the vulcanism associated with the formation of the Mare Tranquillitatis presumably occurred around 3.7 × 10 9 years ago. A major cause of the escape of gas from lunar rock is probably the impact event which ejected the rock from its place of origin to its place of discovery. Upper limits for the times at which these impact events occurred have been estimated.Keywords
This publication has 3 references indexed in Scilit:
- Preliminary Examination of Lunar Samples from Apollo 11Science, 1969
- Genetic implications of Lunar regolith thickness variationsIcarus, 1968
- Potassium-argon dating by activation with fast neutronsJournal of Geophysical Research, 1966