A laser-ablation ICPMS study of Apollo 15 low-titanium olivine-normative and quartz-normative mare basalts

Abstract

Apollo 15 low-Ti mare basalts have traditionally been subdivided into olivine- and quartz-normative basalt types, based on their different SiO2, FeO, and TiO2 whole-rock compositions. Previous studies have reconciled this compositional diversity by considering the olivine- and quartz-normative basalts as originating from different lunar mantle source regions. To provide new information on the compositions of Apollo 15 low-Ti mare basalt parental magmas, we report a study of major and trace-element compositions of whole rocks, pyroxenes, and other phases in the olivine-normative basalts 15016 and 15555 and quartz-normative basalts 15475 and 15499. Results show similar rare-earth-element patterns in pyroxenes from all four basalts. The estimated equilibrium parental-melt compositions from the trace-element compositions of pyroxenes are similar for 15016, 15555 and 15499. Additionally, an independent set of trace-element distribution coefficients has been determined from measured pyroxene and mesostasis compositions in sample 15499. These data suggest that fractional crystallization may be a viable alternative to compositional differences in the mantle source to explain the ∼25% difference in whole-rock TiO2, and corresponding differences in SiO2 and FeO between the Apollo 15 olivine- and quartz-normative basalts. In this model, the older (∼3.35 Ga) quartz-normative basalts, with lower TiO2 experienced olivine, chromite, and Cr-ulvöspinel fractionation at 'crustal levels' in magma chambers or dikes, followed by limited near-surface mineral fractionation, within the lava flows. In contrast, the younger (∼3.25 Ga) olivine-normative basalts experienced only limited magmatic differentiation at 'crustal-levels', but extensive near-surface mineral fractionation to produce their evolved mineral compositions. A two-stage mineral-fractionation model is consistent with textural and mineralogical observations, as well as the mineral trace-element constraints developed by this study.