Lunar basalts offer key insights into the magmatic and thermal evolution of the Moon.Geochronologic constraints deduced from the Apollo and Luna mission samples,as well as lunar meteorites,had previously suggested tha...Lunar basalts offer key insights into the magmatic and thermal evolution of the Moon.Geochronologic constraints deduced from the Apollo and Luna mission samples,as well as lunar meteorites,had previously suggested that lunar volcanism occurred as early as ca.≥4.37 billion years ago(Ga)[1]and ceased around 2.9-2.8 Ga[2],with two major pulses occurring in 3.95-3.58 and 3.38-3.08 Ga[3].But analysis of lunar basaltic samples recently returned by the Chang’e-5 mission reveals 2-billion-year-old volcanism on the Moon,representing the youngest lunar basalts reported to date[4,5].One of the most popular hypotheses for the cause of longlived volcanism on the Moon is that the source region for young lunar volcanism was enriched in radioactive heat-producing elements[2,6].Lunar samples from 3.5 to 3.0 Ga exhibit a gradual increase in the potassium,rare-earth elements,and phosphorus(KREEP)-like component contribution[3],consistent with the radioactive heat-producing elements hypothesis.However,the demonstrably non-KREEP origin for the 2-billion-year-old Chang’e-5 basalts implies a possible transition in lunar volcanism away from a KREEP-like component contribution occurred between 3.0 and 2.03 Ga[7].Therefore,studying the characteristics and origin of magmatic activity during the period from 3.0 to2.03 Ga is essential to address the timing of the possible transition and to thus extend our understanding of sustaining long-lived volcanism on the Moon.However,this goal is currently hampered by limited available lunar materials.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(42225301,42103023,42241104,and 42241105)China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(2020M670447 and 2022T150643)+1 种基金the Key Research Program of the Institute of Geology and GeophysicsChinese Academy of Sciences(IGGCAS-202101)。
文摘Lunar basalts offer key insights into the magmatic and thermal evolution of the Moon.Geochronologic constraints deduced from the Apollo and Luna mission samples,as well as lunar meteorites,had previously suggested that lunar volcanism occurred as early as ca.≥4.37 billion years ago(Ga)[1]and ceased around 2.9-2.8 Ga[2],with two major pulses occurring in 3.95-3.58 and 3.38-3.08 Ga[3].But analysis of lunar basaltic samples recently returned by the Chang’e-5 mission reveals 2-billion-year-old volcanism on the Moon,representing the youngest lunar basalts reported to date[4,5].One of the most popular hypotheses for the cause of longlived volcanism on the Moon is that the source region for young lunar volcanism was enriched in radioactive heat-producing elements[2,6].Lunar samples from 3.5 to 3.0 Ga exhibit a gradual increase in the potassium,rare-earth elements,and phosphorus(KREEP)-like component contribution[3],consistent with the radioactive heat-producing elements hypothesis.However,the demonstrably non-KREEP origin for the 2-billion-year-old Chang’e-5 basalts implies a possible transition in lunar volcanism away from a KREEP-like component contribution occurred between 3.0 and 2.03 Ga[7].Therefore,studying the characteristics and origin of magmatic activity during the period from 3.0 to2.03 Ga is essential to address the timing of the possible transition and to thus extend our understanding of sustaining long-lived volcanism on the Moon.However,this goal is currently hampered by limited available lunar materials.
