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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1974

The simultaneous determination of 20 trace elements in terrestrial, lunar and meteoritic material by radiochemical neutron activation analysis

A radiochemical neutron activation method has been developed and applied to determine the content of 20 trace elements (Ag, Au, Bi, Br, Cd, Co, Cs, Cu, Ga, Ge, In, Ir, Ni, Rb, Re, Sb, Te, Tl, and Zn) in 45 terrestrial, 230 lunar, and 70 meteoritic samples. Results obtained for the U.S.G.S. standard basalt BCR-1 indicate that the inherent precision for most elements is 10% or better. The values obtained for the trace elements investigated are compared to those previously reported in the literature. Data for Type I carbonaceous chondrites show their compositions to be far more uniform than previously supposed. The values obtained for several elements represent significant revisions in the accepted cosmic abundances. These new values include: Zn, 1250; Cd, 1.51; and Ir, 0.72 atoms/million Si atoms. Further results have provided insight into the meteoritic material and accretion of the moon, and give evidence of lunar highland vulcanism.

Keays, R. R.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Igneous inclusions from ordinary chondrites: High temperature cumulates and a shock melt

We report microprobe, instrumental neutron activation analysis, and radiochemical neutron activation analysis data for three large igneous inclusions in the Yamato (Y-)75097, Y-793241, and Y-794046 ordinary chondrites. The inclusions in the first two chondrites are troctolitic cumulates that have undergone appreciable reactions with their hosts either during emplacement and/or cooling. Olivine-spinel Fe-Mg exchange pairs in these two inclusions record equilibration temperatures of about 710 C, and these temperatures are similar to those exhibited by mineral pairs in the Y-75097 and Y-793241 hosts. The inclusion in Y-794046 is texturally unique, consisting of fine-grained, randomly distributed olivines, coarse (approximately 2 mm) fascicular pyroxene laths, and angular pockets of maskelynite/plagioclase feldspar. The phase compositions are readily interpreted as having resulted from extremely rapid, essentially isochemical cooling to temperatures less than 1000 C of a melt with an initial temperature greater than 1670 C. We suggest that this igneous inclusion formed in-situ by shock.

Sack, Richard O.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Applications of activation analysis to geochemical, meteoritic and lunar studies.

The application of activation analysis techniques to the analysis of cosmological materials, i.e., terrestrial, tektitic, meteoritic, and lunar matter, is reviewed. Elemental determinations can be made by instrumental fast-neutron and thermal-neutron activation analysis, photonuclear and charged-particle activation analysis, and by radiochemical neutron activation analysis. Partition-coefficient methods, autoradiography studies, gamma-gamma coincidence counting, and age determination by neutron activation are discussed. Attention is given to K-Ar and I-Xe dating of meteorites.

Showalter, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Siderophiles and volatiles in Apollo-16 rocks and soils

The duplicate and mean concentrations of eight trace elements (Ni, Zn, Ga, Ge, Cd, In, Ir, Au) in eight Apollo-16 soils, five rocks, and a metallic spherule were determined by radiochemical neutron-activation analysis (RNAA) following radiochemical separation. Data are presented and compared with analyses of Apollo-14 samples. The concentration of extralunar components in mature Apollo-16 soils is about 3.8%, and the samples contain a large amount of pre-Imbrium regolith. Volatiles, siderophiles, and cosmogenic isotopes are intercorrelated, largely as a result of mixing of North Ray crater ejecta having low concentrations with mature soils containing high concentrations. Light soils have higher concentrations of Zn, Ga, and Cd than dark mature and submature soils, which contain comparatively higher concentration of Sc and Fe. Volatility largely controls the distributions of Zn, Cd, and In in soils and soil breccias and probably affects the Ga distribution.

Wasson, J. T.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Trace elements in ocean ridge basalt glasses - Implications for fractionations during mantle evolution and petrogenesis

Seven documented and fresh glassy selvages from ocean floor basalt pillows were analyzed for trace elements including Ag, Au, Bi, Br, Ni, Pd, and Zn using radiochemical activation analysis. Glasses from DSDP leg 24, site 238 in the Indian Ocean have a trace element pattern which reflects secondary processes at a shallow depth. Chemical fractionations in petrogenesis of tholeiitic basalts indicate that (Ir, Os), Au, Pd, Ni, and Re are strongly fractionated in igneous processes; the unfractionated chondritic mantle pattern thus imposes constraints on mantle evolution models. Finally, the limited Rb/Cs fractionation in oceanic tholeiites reflects the low abundance of volatiles and hydrous silicates in normal ocean ridge basalts.

Hertogen, J.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Antarctic and non-Antarctic meteorites form different populations

The trace element differences between Victoria Land H5 chondrites and non-Antarctic H5 chondrites are studied. The focus on common meteorites was stimulated by Antarctic and non-Antarctic differences in meteorite types and in the trace element contents of congeners of rare type. Thirteen elements were analyzed by neutron activation analysis with radiochemical separation, and eight differed significantly. Eliminating test biasing and the possibility of compositional difference due to Antarctic weathering of the 300,000 year-old (on the average) Victoria Land falls, it is concluded that the two sets of chondrites differ due to extraterrestrial causes. The three possibilities discussed, differences in sample population, physical properties, orbital characteristics, and meteoroid flux with time, are all seen as problematic.

Dennison, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS1979

The petrogenesis of L-6 chondrites - Insights from the chemistry of minerals

Measurements of the major, minor and trace element abundances of the major minerals of the L-6 chondrites Alfianello, Colby (WI) and Leedey are used to investigate the formation mechanisms of L-6 chondrites. Electron microprobe analysis was performed on individual grains of each mineral, and separated minerals were analyzed by instrumental and radiochemical neutron activation analysis. The compositions of the three meteorites are observed to be generally uniform, however different abundances and distributions of rare earth elements and Co and Ni indicate that the meteorites have different petrogenetic histories. Alkali element distributions are found to be incompatible with internal equilibration of a closed system.

Curtis, D. B.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Composition of the earth's upper mantle. I - Siderophile trace elements in ultramafic nodules

The considered investigation is concerned with a reexamination of the question of the distribution of siderophile elements in the earth's upper mantle, taking into account a more unified data base which is now available. A comprehensive suite of ultramafic inclusions was collected as part of the Basaltic Volcanism Study Project and has been analyzed by instrument neutron activation analysis for major, minor, and some lithophile trace elements. In addition, 18 of these rocks and the important sheared garnet lherzolite PHN 1611 have been analyzed by means of radiochemical neutron activation analysis for 7 siderophile elements (Au, Ge, Ir, Ni, Os, Pd, and Re) and 9 volatile elements (Ag, Bi, Cd, In, Sb, Se, Te, Tl, and Zn). The siderophile element data reveal interesting inter-element correlations, which were not apparent from the compiled abundance tables of Ringwood and Kesson (1976) and Chou (1978).

Morgan, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Trace-element composition of Chicxulub crater melt rock, K/T tektites and Yucatan basement

The Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T) boundary Chicxulub impact is the best preserved large impact in the geologic record. The Chicxulub crater has been buried with no apparent erosion of its intracrater deposits, and its ejecta blanket is known and is well preserved at hundreds of localities globally. Although most of the molten material ejected from the crater has been largely altered, a few localities still preserve tektite glass. Availability of intra- and extracrater impact products as well as plausible matches to the targeted rocks allows the comparison of compositions of the different classes of impact products to those of the impacted lithologies. Determination of trace-element compositions of the K/T tektites, Chicxulub melt rock, and the targeted Yucatan silicate basement and carbonate/evaporite lithologies have been made using instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Some sample splits were studied with both techniques to ensure that inter-laboratory variation was not significant or could be corrected. The concentration of a few major and minor elements was also checked against microprobe results. Radiochemical neutron activation analysis (RNAA) was used to determine Ir abundances in some samples.

Hildebrand, A. R.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Pristine moon rocks - A 'large' felsite and a metal-rich ferroan anorthosite

Results of elemental analyses, performed either by instrumental neutron activation analysis (NAA) or radiochemical NAA, of 19 lunar rock samples obtained by the Apollo 15, 17, and 12 missions are presented. Two of the samples are most extraordinary: 'large' (1 g) felsite from Apollo 12 and a pristine ferroan anorthosite from Apollo 15. The felsite is mainly a graphic intergrowth of K-feldspar and a silica phase, with about 6 pct plagioclase and 1 pct each of ferroaugite, ilmenite, and fayalitic olivine. The Fe-metal content of ferroan anorthosite is 1.2 wt pct in the thin section studied (but, based on mass balance for Co and Ni, must have been lower in the chip used for bulk-rock analysis); the measured bulk-rock concentrations of siderophile elements Re, Os, and Ir are far higher than previously observed among pristine lunar anorthosites. These results underscore the uncertainty associated with any attempt to estimate the overall siderophile element contents of the moon's crust.

Warren, Paul H.↗