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At least 19 records

Ar-40/Ar-39 ages and cosmic ray exposure ages of Apollo 14 samples.

We have used the Ar-40/Ar-39 dating technique on eight samples of Apollo 14 rocks (14053, 14310), breccia fragments (14321), and soil fragments (14001, 14167). The large basalt fragments give reasonable Ar-40/Ar-39 release patterns and yield well defined crystallization ages of 3.89-3.95 aeons. Correlation of the Ar-40/Ar-39 release patterns with Ar-39/Ar-37 patterns showed that the low temperature fractions with high radiogenic argon loss came from K-rich phases. A highly shocked sample and fragments included in the breccia yield complex release patterns with a low temperature peak. The total argon age of these fragments is 3.95 aeons. Cosmic ray exposure ages on these samples are obtained from the ratio of spallogenic Ar-38 to reactor induced Ar-37 and show a distinct grouping of low exposure ages of 26 m.y. correlated with Cone crater. Other samples have exposure ages of more than 260 m.y. and identify material with a more complex integrated cosmic age exposure history.

Turner, G.

Absolute ages from crater statistics: Using radiometric ages of Martian samples for determining the Martian cratering chronology

In the absence of dates derived from rock samples, impact crater frequencies are commonly used to date Martian surface units. All models for absolute dating rely on the lunar cratering chronology and on the validity of its extrapolation to Martian conditions. Starting from somewhat different lunar chronologies, rather different Martian cratering chronologies are found in the literature. Currently favored models are compared. The differences at old ages are significant, the differences at younger ages are considerable and give absolute ages for the same crater frequencies as different as a factor of 3. The total uncertainty could be much higher, though, since the ratio of lunar to Martian cratering rate which is of basic importance in the models is believed to be known no better than within a factor of 2. Thus, it is of crucial importance for understanding the the evolution of Mars and determining the sequence of events to establish an unambiguous Martian cratering chronology from crater statistics in combination with clean radiometric ages of returned Martian samples. For the dating goal, rocks should be as pristine as possible from a geologically simple area with a one-stage emplacement history of the local formation. A minimum of at least one highland site for old ages, two intermediate-aged sites, and one very young site is needed.

Neukum, G.

Rb-Sr age of the Shergotty achondrite and implications for metamorphic resetting of isochron ages

The age of the Shergotty achondrite is determined by Rb-Sr isotope analysis and the metamorphic resetting of isochron ages, which is presumed to have occurred during a shock event in the history of the meteorite, is discussed. The isochron best fitting the Rb-Sr evolution diagram is found to correspond to an age of 165 million years, with an initial Sr-87/Sr-86 value of 0.72260. Different apparent ages obtained by the K-Ar and Sm-Nd methods are interpreted in terms of a model which quantifies the degree of resetting of internal isochron ages by low temperature solid state diffusion. On the basis of these considerations, it is concluded that Shergotty crystallized from a melt 650 million years ago, was shock heated to 300 to 400 C after its parent body was involved in a collision 165 million years ago, and was first exposed to cosmic rays two million years ago.

Nyquist, L. E.

LMC clusters - Age calibration and age distribution revisited

The empirical age relation for star clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud presented by Elson and Fall (1985) are reexamined using ages based only on main-sequence turnoffs. The present sample includes 57 clusters, 24 of which have color-magnitude diagrams published since 1985. The new calibration is very similar to that found previously, and the scatter in the relation corresponds to uncertainties of about a factor of 2 in age. The age distribution derived from the new calibration does not differ significantly from that derived in earlier work. It is compared with age distributions estimated by other authors for different samples of clusters, and the results are discussed.

Elson, Rebecca A.

Ages of intermediate-age Magellanic Cloud star clusters

Ages of intermediate-age Large Magellanic Cloud star clusters have been estimated without locating the faint, unevolved portion of cluster main sequences. Six clusters with established color-magnitude diagrams were selected for study: SL 868, NGC 1783, NGC 1868, NGC 2121, NGC 2209, and NGC 2231. Since red giant photometry is more accurate than the necessarily fainter main-sequence photometry, the distributions of red giants on the cluster color-magnitude diagrams were compared to a grid of 33 stellar evolutionary tracks, evolved from the main sequence through core-helium exhaustion, spanning the expected mass and metallicity range for Magellanic Cloud cluster red giants. The time-dependent behavior of the luminosity of the model red giants was used to estimate cluster ages from the observed cluster red giant luminosities. Except for the possibility of SL 868 being an old globular cluster, all clusters studied were found to have ages less than 10 to the 9th yr. It is concluded that there is currently no substantial evidence for a major cluster population of large, populous clusters greater than 10 to the 9th yr old in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

Flower, P. J.

Petrologic and age relations of the Apollo 16 rocks - Implications for subsurface geology and the age of the Nectaris basin

In connection with its proximity to the Nectaris basin, the Apollo 16 site is the prime lunar sampling site for dating the Nectaris impact. It is found that the Ar-40/Ar-39 data set upper limits on the time of formation of the major types of breccia at the Apollo 16 site. These are 3.92 b.y. for the feldspathic fragmental breccias, and 3.92 b.y. for the dimict breccias. The data establish that the major subsurface units at the site were deposited no longer than 3.92 b.y. ago. Recent developments indicate that the bulk of the material at the site probably has Nectarian or pre-Nectarian ages. An age of 3.9 b.y. must be a rough upper limit to the age of the Nectaris impact. This limit must be verified by additional studies.

James, O. B.

Role of metabolic rate and DNA-repair in Drosophila aging Implications for the mitochondrial mutation theory of aging

The notion that injury to mitochondrial DNA is a cause of intrinsic aging was tested by correlating the different respiration rates of several wild strains of Drosophila melanogaster with the life-spans. Respiration rate and aging in a mutant of D. melanogaster deficient in postreplication repair were also investigated. In agreement with the rate of living theory, there was an inverse relation between oxygen consumption and median life-span in flies having normal DNA repair. The mutant showed an abnormally low life-span as compared to the controls and also exhibited significant deficiency in mating fitness and a depressed metabolic rate. Therefore, the short life-span of the mutant may be due to the congenital condition rather than to accelerated aging.

Miquel, J.

Effects of simulated increased gravity on the rate of aging of rats - Implications for the rate of living theory of aging

It was found that the rate of aging of 17 month old rats which had been exposed to 3.14 times normal gravity in an animal centrifuge for 8 months was larger than that of the controls as determined by the apparently elevated lipofuscin content in heart and kidney, reduced numbers and increased size of mitochondria of heart tissue, and inferior liver mitochondria respiration. Steady-state food intake per day per kg body weight, which is presumably proportional to rate of living or specific basal metabolic expenditure, was found to be about 18 percent higher than in the controls after an initial 2 month adaptation period. Although half of the centrifuged animals lived only a little shorter than the controls (average about 343 vs. 364 days on the average, statistically nonsignificant), the remaining half (longest survivors) lived on the centrifuge an average of 520 days (range 483-572) compared to an average of 574 days (range 502-615) for the controls, computed from the onset of centrifugation, or 11 percent shorter. These findings indicate that a moderate increase of the level of basal metabolism of young adult rats adapted to hypergravity compared to controls in normal gravity is accompanied by a roughly similar increase in the rate of organ aging and reduction of survival, in agreement with Pearl's (1928) rate of living theory of aging, previously experimentally demonstrated only in poikilotherms.

Economos, A. C.

The calibration of photographic and spectroscopic films. 1: Film batch variations of reciprocity failure in IIaO film. 2: Thermal and aging effects in relationship to reciprocity failure. 3: Shifting of reciprocity failure points as a function of thermal and aging effects

Reciprocity failure was examined for IIaO spectroscopic film. Three separate experiments were performed in order to study film batch variations, thermal and aging effects in relationship to reciprocity failure, and shifting of reciprocity failure points as a function of thermal and aging effects. The failure was examined over ranges of time between 5 and 60 seconds. The variation to illuminance was obtained by using thirty neutral density filters. A standard sensitometer device imprinted the wedge pattern on the film as exposure time was subjected to variation. The results indicate that film batch differences, temperature, and aging play an important role in reciprocity failure of IIaO spectroscopic film. A shifting of the failure points was also observed in various batches of film.

Peters, K. A.

The calibration of photographic and spectroscopic films. Part 1: Film batch variations of reciprocity failure in IIaO film. Part 2: Thermal and aging effects in relationship to reciprocity failure. P art 3: Shifting of reciprocity failure points as a function of thermal and aging effects

Reciprocity failure was examined for IIaO spectroscopic film. Three separate experiments were performed in order to study film batch variations, thermal and aging effects in relationship to reciprocity failure, and shifting of reciprocity failure points as a function of thermal and aging effects. The failure was examined over ranges of time between 5 and 60 seconds. The variation to illuminance was obtained by using thirty neutral density filters. A standard sensitometer device imprinted the wedge pattern on the film as exposure time was subjected to variation. Results indicate that film batch differences, temperature, and aging play an important role in reciprocity failure of IIaO spectroscopic film. A shifting of the failure points was also observed in various batches of film.

Peters, Kevin A.

Rb-Sr ages of igneous rocks from the Apollo 14 mission and the age of the Fra Mauro formation.

Internal Rb-Sr isochrons were determined on four basaltic rocks and on a basaltic clast from a breccia from the Fra Mauro landing site. An internal isochron was determined for rock 12004 and yielded a value in agreement with previous results for basaltic rocks from the Apollo 12 site. The crystallization ages for Apollo 14 basalts are only 0.2 to 0.3 AE older than were found for mare basalts from the Sea of Tranquility. Assuming these leucocratic igneous rocks to be representative of the Fra Mauro site, it follows that there were major igneous processes active in these regions, and presumably throughout the highlands, at times only slightly preceding the periods at which the maria were last flooded.

Papanastassiou, D. A.

Rb-Sr age of a Luna 16 basalt and the model age of lunar soils.

An internal isochron was determined on a small basalt fragment (sample B-1) returned from the Luna 16 mission, which yields an age of 3.42 plus or minus 0.8 b.y. and a low initial Sr87/Sr86 value. A comparison is made of the data from four lunar missions to mare sites which shows that the last period of major flooding of the mare basins is confined to a narrow time interval of only 0.55 b.y. The direct evidence of major lunar magmatic activity appears to be confined to the interval from 3.1 to 4.0 b.y. The Sr87/Sr86 values for all mare basalts are extremely primitive and lie in a rather narrow range. A diagram is given for initial Sr87/Sr86 as a function of time for all lunar rocks.

Papanastassiou, D. A.

Cosmic ray exposure ages of Apollo 17 samples and the age of Tycho

Cosmic ray exposure data for Apollo 17 samples and quantitative photogeologic data are presented which support the hypothesis that the Central Cluster unit and the Bright Mantle at the Apollo 17 landing site are related to impact of ejecta from the crater Tycho, lying about 2000 km to the southwest. The exposure ages point to a site-wide event 96 m.y ago, which included emplacement of the Bright Mantle and Central Cluster units.

Arvidson, R.