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At least 541 records · Page 30

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NASA NTRS1975

Thermal inertia mapping

A thermal model of the earth's surface has been developed and used to determine the thermal inertia of a test site in the Mojave Desert, California. The model, which includes meteorological heating terms as well as radiation and conduction heating terms, is used with remotely sensed surface temperature data to determine thermal inertia of materials. The thermal inertia is displayed in image form, and can aid in the differentiation of the various lithologic materials in the test site.

Kahle, A. B.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Petrography of isotopically-dated clasts in the Kapoeta howardite and petrologic constraints on the evolution of its parent body

Results are presented for petrographic and electron microprobe studies of the isotopically dated A, B, C, and rho basaltic rock fragments separated from the howardite Kapoeta. Other lithic clasts and numerous mineral fragments in thin sections of Kapoeta are investigated in order to outline the range in lithology and chemistry of the source materials from which the Kapoeta meteorite is derived. The data obtained are compared to those from other meteorite and lunar samples, with particular reference to the observational consequences for the evolution of the Kapoeta parent body. A major conclusion is that there is no clearcut evidence for young magmatism on the Kapoeta parent body. The observations preclude the interpretation that the Kapoeta is a simple mixture of eucrites and diogenites. In contrast to the moon, a source of anorthositic rocks does not appear to have been present on the Kapoeta parent body which involved chiefly pyroxene. The FeO-MnO relationships suggest that the source of the materials in the Kapoeta parent planet are fundamentally related.

Dymek, R. F.↗

NASA NTRS1972

Apollo 15 coarse fines (4-10 mm): Sample classification, description and inventory

A particle by particle binocular microscopic examination of all of the Apollo 15 4-10 mm fines samples is reported. These particles are classified according to their macroscopic lithologic features in order to provide a basis for sample allocations and future study. The relatively large size of these particles renders them too vaulable to permit treatment along with the other bulk fines, yet they are too small (and numerous) to practically receive full individual descriptive treatment as given the larger rock samples. This examination, classification and description of subgroups represents a compromise treatment. In most cases and for many types of investigation the individual particles should be large enough to permit the application of more than one type of analysis.

Powell, B. N.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Geochemistry

The most effective strategy for the geochemical study of a planet is to proceed systematically with the mineralogical and chemical characterization of its materials in accordance with geologically determined priorities. It is insufficient merely to analyze chemically the surface rocks. To appreciate the meaning of a chemical analysis, some assessment must be made of the geologic history of the sample - what its source and mode of origin are and what processes have operated upon the sample to cause chemical fractionation. Determination of mineralogy, texture, lithology, and other properties of the rock that might be relevant to origin is, therefore, necessary.

Carr, M. H.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Thermal inertia imaging - A new geologic mapping tool

A thermal model of the earth's surface has been developed and used to determine the thermal inertia of a test site in the Mojave Desert, California. The model, which includes meteorological heating terms as well as radiation and conduction heating terms, is used with remotely sensed surface temperature and reflectance data to determine the thermal inertia of the surface materials at the test site. The thermal inertia is displayed in image form, and can aid in the differentiation of the various lithologic materials in the test site. Since this thermal property is representative of the upper several cm of the surface, it complements visible and reflected near-IR image data.

Kahle, A. B.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Shock metamorphic effects in lunar microcraters

Detailed petrographic descriptions and results of electron microprobe analyses are presented for impact glasses as well as shocked and unshocked minerals associated with individual lunar microcraters (diameters of 0.4 to 4.4 mm). Rocks of four typical lunar lithologies are studied: anorthosite, anorthositic norite, ophitic basalt, and polymict breccia. Textures, mineralogies, and chemical compositions are examined along a radial traverse through each microcrater; i.e., across the impact glasses lining the crater wall, the shock-metamorphosed zone immediately underlying the glass liner, and the unshocked host rock. The microcraters are discussed in a sequence of increasing mineralogical complexity of the host rock (from anorthosite to polymict breccia) in order to distinguish shock effects among mineral types. The shock metamorphic features observed are found to be comparable to those reported in shocked basalt from Lonar Crater, India, and are categorized into five shock-intensity classes with pressures experimentally calibrated.

Schaal, R. B.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Consortium investigation of breccia 67435

The paper presents results of the initial phase of a consortium investigation of lunar rock 67435, a glass coated breccia which contains a unique spinel-troctolite clast. These results include oxygen isotopic data for the host breccia, bulk composition data for the host breccia, glass coating and a large aphanitic clast, and detailed petrographic descriptions of all lithologies encountered.

Warner, R. D.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Construction and interpretation of a digital inertia image

An image representing the thermal inertia in the vicinity of Pisgah Crater and Lavic Lake in Southern California has been generated from visible, near IR, and thermal images taken from aircraft. Construction of the thermal inertia image required radiometric calibration and geometric rectification of the acquired images as well as registration to a topographic map. The Kahle thermal model used in the construction of the thermal inertia image requires specification of albedo, topographic slope and slope azimuth, diurnal temperature range and local meteorological conditions. Albedo information was derived from the visible image; digital topographic information was computed from digitized stereo aerial photographs; and thermal ranges were calculated by subtracting the predawn from the afternoon thermal image data. Our computed values of thermal inertia were in close agreement with published values for similar surface materials. Thermal inertia provides complementary information to conventional images of reflected solar radiation for use in lithologic mapping.

Gillespie, A. R.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Groundwater studies in arid areas in Egypt using LANDSAT satellite images

Various features are interpreted which have strong bearing on groundwater in the arid environment. These include the nature of geological and lithologic units, structural lineaments, present and old drainage systems, distribution and form of water pools, geomorphologic units, weathering surfaces and other weathering phenomena, desert soils, sand dunes and dune sand accumulations, growths of natural vegetation and agriculture, and salt crusts and other expressions of salinization. There are many impressive examples which illustrate the significance of satellite image interpretation on the regional conditions of groundwater which could be traced and interconnected over several tens or even several hundreds of kilometers. This is especially true in the northern Western Desert of Egypt where ground water issuing from deep strata comes to the surface along ENE-WSW and ESE-WNW fault lines and fracture systems. Another striking example is illustrated by the occurrence of fresh to brackish groundwater on the Mediterranean Sea Coastal Zone of the Western Desert where the groundwater is found in the form of lenses floating on the saline sea water.

Elshazly, E. M.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Geochemical and mineralogical interpretation of the Viking inorganic chemical results

The current status of geochemical, mineralogical, petrological interpretation of refined Viking Lander data is reviewed, and inferences that can be drawn from data on the composition of Martian surface materials are presented. The materials are dominantly fine silicate particles admixed with, or including, iron oxide particles. Both major element and trace element abundances in all samples are indicative of mafic source rocks (rather than more highly differentiated salic materials). The surface fines are nearly identical in composition at the two widely separated Lander sites, except for some lithologic diversity at the 100-m scale. This implies that some agency (presumably aeolian processes) has thoroughly homogenized them on a planetary scale. The most plausible model for the mineralogical constitution of the fine-grained surface materials at the two Lander sites is a fine-grained mixture dominated by iron-rich smectites, or their degradation products, with ferric oxides, probably including maghemite and carbonates (such as calcite), but not such less stable phases as magnesite or siderite.

Toulmin, P., III↗

NASA NTRS1978

Origin of magnetization in lunar breccias - An example of thermal overprinting

Twenty six samples from seven hand specimens, collected from the station 6 boulder at the Apollo 17 landing site, were studied magnetically. The boulder is a breccia consisting of three lithologic units distinguished by their clast population. The direction of magnetization of samples from unit B which is almost devoid of large clasts cluster fairly well after alternating field demagnetization. Samples from unit C which is characterized by abundant large clasts up to 1 m in size do not contain a uniform direction of magnetization but the distribution is not random. Based on these data we propose that the natural remanent magnetization (NRM) in these breccias is the vector sum of two magnetizations, a pre-impact magnetization and a partial thermoremanence acquired during breccia formation. The relative contribution of the two components is controlled by the thermal history of the ejecta, which in turn is determined by its clast population. Depending on the clast population, the NRM can be a total thermoremanence, a partial thermoremanence plus a pre-impact magnetization, or a pre-impact magnetization. This model of thermal overprinting might be applicable to all lunar breccias of medium and higher metamorphic grade.

Gose, W. A.↗

NASA NTRS1978

Investigation of the Manicouagan impact crater, Quebec - An introduction

An interdisciplinary study of the 65-km diameter Manicouagan ring structure in Quebec was undertaken to gain insight into the integrated effects of impacts on terrestrial planetary bodies. The paper serves as an introduction to several companion papers and summarizes major conclusions. Studies of the 214 m.y. old structure show that the melt rocks are texturally inhomogeneous but chemically homogeneous and can be modeled as a mixture of target lithologies. The melt rocks have a Sr-87/Sr-86 ratio compatible with the melting of crustal rocks. The melt had a two-stage cooling history with clast-melt interactions indicative of mixing superheated silicate liquid with cold clasts. Grain size, clast reactions, and thermal equilibration of clasts and melts are described.

Phinney, W. C.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Apollo 14 revisited, or breccias aren't so bad after all

A study of large Apollo 14 samples suggests that they were formed by the same processes which formed the impactites found at Apollo 16 and 17 and in terrestrial craters, especially those in crystalline targets. The abundant crystalline matrix breccias of the Apollo 14 samples generally show higher clast contents and less refractory clast populations than the clast-laden impact melts abundant at the other Apollo nonmare landing sites. The Apollo 14 characteristics are attributed to the mixing of a greater amount of cold clastic debris into the superheated melt formed during impacts. The other major lithology at Apollo 14, the vitric matrix breccias, are made in part from agglutinate-bearing soil and cannot be the protolith of crystalline matrix breccias, because of differences in structure and composition. Variations among the breccias indicate the occurrence of several impact events.

Simonds, C. H.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Apollo 16 white boulder consortium samples 67455 and 67475 - Petrologic investigation

The paper describes Apollo 16 samples 67455 and 67475 from a white boulder which seems to be an ejecta block that represents a major lithology of the ejecta stratigraphic section penetrated by the North Ray cratering event. The characteristics of 67455, a polymict white feldspathic impact ejecta breccia, might possibly indicate that this and other samples from near the North Ray Crater rim come from a different source area or at least a different part of the same source area than do other Apollo 16 light matrix breccias. Sample 67475 is an impact melt probably produced by the same event that produced 67455. The transport of this assemblage and the relation of the white boulder to ejecta from the Nectaris event are considered.

Minkin, J. A.↗

NASA NTRS1977

Exploration for fossil and nuclear fuels from orbital altitudes

The paper discusses the application of remotely sensed data from orbital satellites to the exploration for fossil and nuclear fuels. Geological applications of Landsat data are described including map editing, lithologic identification, structural geology, and mineral exploration. Specific results in fuel exploration are reviewed and a series of related Landsat images is included.

Short, N. M.↗

NASA NTRS1978

The nature of rays and sources of highland material in Mare Crisium

Although highland fragments are rare in the Luna 24 core, they should provide an important source of information on the sequence of formation and lithology of lunar east-limb basins. The numerous rays that cross the Crisium basin suggest several sources of highland materials. Both deposition of primary ejecta and reworking of local material were most likely responsible for the formation of ray systems in Mare Crisium. In addition to the fact that Luna 24 landed near the uprange end of a Giordano Bruno ray, incomplete sampling of the uppermost layer and formation of the ray by reworking of in situ regolith suggest that its materials may be scarce or not present in the core. Highland fragments present are most likely to be representative of several highland sources.

Maxwell, T. A.↗

NASA NTRS1978

The Apollo 17 station 7 boulder - Summary of study by the International Consortium

A systematic interdisciplinary study of the Apollo 17 station 7 boulder, from the foot of the North Massif at Taurus-Littrow, is described. The astronauts observed four lithologies: a large white clast represented by 77215, cut by dark dikelets (77075) and enclosed in blue-gray breccia (77115); the assemblage of these three rock types is in turn surrounded by green-gray breccia (77135). The history of the station 7 boulder, as construed from the results of the consortium study, is presented.

Minkin, J. A.↗

NASA NTRS1978

Allende dark inclusions

Throughout many samples of the Allende meteorite there are black-to-light-gray lithic inclusions (xenoliths) that have been found to be different from the bulk meteorite both petrographically and chemically. They contain information that reflects either a lithologic range on the Allende parent meteorite body and/or foreign carbonaceous chondrite fragments. Studies of six of these dark inclusions are reported in the present paper.

Fruland, R. M.↗