Lunar samples record an impact 4.2 billion years ago that may have formed the Serenitatis Basin
Impact cratering on the Moon and the derived size-frequency distribution functions of lunar impact craters are used to determine the ages of unsampled planetary surfaces across the Solar System. Radiometric dating of lunar samples provides an absolute age baseline, however, crater-chronology functio...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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SPRINGERNATURE
2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/90193 |
| _version_ | 1848765350174261248 |
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| author | Černok, A. White, L.F. Anand, M. Tait, K.T. Darling, J.R. Whitehouse, M. Miljkovic, Katarina Lemelin, M. Reddy, Steven Fougerouse, Denis Rickard, William Saxey, David Ghent, R. |
| author_facet | Černok, A. White, L.F. Anand, M. Tait, K.T. Darling, J.R. Whitehouse, M. Miljkovic, Katarina Lemelin, M. Reddy, Steven Fougerouse, Denis Rickard, William Saxey, David Ghent, R. |
| author_sort | Černok, A. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Impact cratering on the Moon and the derived size-frequency distribution functions of lunar impact craters are used to determine the ages of unsampled planetary surfaces across the Solar System. Radiometric dating of lunar samples provides an absolute age baseline, however, crater-chronology functions for the Moon remain poorly constrained for ages beyond 3.9 billion years. Here we present U–Pb geochronology of phosphate minerals within shocked lunar norites of a boulder from the Apollo 17 Station 8. These minerals record an older impact event around 4.2 billion years ago, and a younger disturbance at around 0.5 billion years ago. Based on nanoscale observations using atom probe tomography, lunar cratering records, and impact simulations, we ascribe the older event to the formation of the large Serenitatis Basin and the younger possibly to that of the Dawes crater. This suggests the Serenitatis Basin formed unrelated to or in the early stages of a protracted Late Heavy Bombardment. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:33:51Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-90193 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:33:51Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publisher | SPRINGERNATURE |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-901932023-02-20T07:55:53Z Lunar samples record an impact 4.2 billion years ago that may have formed the Serenitatis Basin Černok, A. White, L.F. Anand, M. Tait, K.T. Darling, J.R. Whitehouse, M. Miljkovic, Katarina Lemelin, M. Reddy, Steven Fougerouse, Denis Rickard, William Saxey, David Ghent, R. Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Physical Sciences Environmental Sciences Geosciences, Multidisciplinary Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences Environmental Sciences & Ecology Geology U-PB GEOCHRONOLOGY APATITE HISTORY MOON BOMBARDMENT DIFFUSION ISOTOPE AGES THERMOMETRY POPULATIONS Impact cratering on the Moon and the derived size-frequency distribution functions of lunar impact craters are used to determine the ages of unsampled planetary surfaces across the Solar System. Radiometric dating of lunar samples provides an absolute age baseline, however, crater-chronology functions for the Moon remain poorly constrained for ages beyond 3.9 billion years. Here we present U–Pb geochronology of phosphate minerals within shocked lunar norites of a boulder from the Apollo 17 Station 8. These minerals record an older impact event around 4.2 billion years ago, and a younger disturbance at around 0.5 billion years ago. Based on nanoscale observations using atom probe tomography, lunar cratering records, and impact simulations, we ascribe the older event to the formation of the large Serenitatis Basin and the younger possibly to that of the Dawes crater. This suggests the Serenitatis Basin formed unrelated to or in the early stages of a protracted Late Heavy Bombardment. 2021 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/90193 10.1038/s43247-021-00181-z English http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ SPRINGERNATURE fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Physical Sciences Environmental Sciences Geosciences, Multidisciplinary Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences Environmental Sciences & Ecology Geology U-PB GEOCHRONOLOGY APATITE HISTORY MOON BOMBARDMENT DIFFUSION ISOTOPE AGES THERMOMETRY POPULATIONS Černok, A. White, L.F. Anand, M. Tait, K.T. Darling, J.R. Whitehouse, M. Miljkovic, Katarina Lemelin, M. Reddy, Steven Fougerouse, Denis Rickard, William Saxey, David Ghent, R. Lunar samples record an impact 4.2 billion years ago that may have formed the Serenitatis Basin |
| title | Lunar samples record an impact 4.2 billion years ago that may have formed the Serenitatis Basin |
| title_full | Lunar samples record an impact 4.2 billion years ago that may have formed the Serenitatis Basin |
| title_fullStr | Lunar samples record an impact 4.2 billion years ago that may have formed the Serenitatis Basin |
| title_full_unstemmed | Lunar samples record an impact 4.2 billion years ago that may have formed the Serenitatis Basin |
| title_short | Lunar samples record an impact 4.2 billion years ago that may have formed the Serenitatis Basin |
| title_sort | lunar samples record an impact 4.2 billion years ago that may have formed the serenitatis basin |
| topic | Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Physical Sciences Environmental Sciences Geosciences, Multidisciplinary Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences Environmental Sciences & Ecology Geology U-PB GEOCHRONOLOGY APATITE HISTORY MOON BOMBARDMENT DIFFUSION ISOTOPE AGES THERMOMETRY POPULATIONS |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/90193 |