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USGS · 70011096

Excess lead in "rusty rock" 66095 and implications for an early lunar differentiation

P.D. Nunes·M. Tatsumoto
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Abstract

Apollo 16 breccia 66095 contains a remarkably high amount of lead (15 parts per million), 85 percent of which is not supported by uranium and thorium in the rock. An acid leach experiment coupled with separate analyses of the whole rock and mineral fractions for uranium, thorium, and lead indicate that the excess lead has a lunar source and was apparently introduced about 4.0 × 10 9 years ago. The data also suggest that a major lunar crustal differentiation occurred about 4.47 × 10 9 years ago.

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P.D. Nunes, M. Tatsumoto. 1973. Excess lead in "rusty rock" 66095 and implications for an early lunar differentiation. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.182.4115.916

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