Paper No. 95-2
Presentation Time: 1:45 PM-2:00 PM
LIGHT ELEMENT GEOCHEMISTRY OF THE LUNAR SURFACE
KERRIDGE, John F., Chemistry, UCSD, La Jolla, CA 92093, jkerridg@ucsd.edu.

In the late 1960s, Ian Kaplan created a state-of-the-art laboratory for isotopic analysis of biogenic elements in returned lunar samples. Interpretation of the large resulting database led to important insights into both physical/chemical processes on the lunar surface and the flux of solar-wind and meteoritic material onto the lunar surface. Abundance and isotopic data for sulfur reveal a dynamic balance between influx of meteoritic sulfur and loss of sulfur through impact heating and/or solar-wind sputtering. Data for nitrogen apparently record long-term variations in composition of the solar wind, though this remains controversial. If correct, this conclusion represents a profound challenge to contemporary understanding of solar history and processes. Carbon in the lunar regolith shows significant isotopic variability whose cause(s) remain presently unknown.

2002 Denver Annual Meeting (October 27-30, 2002)
Session No. 95
From Geochemistry of the Geosphere, Atmosphere, and Cosmos to Forensic Environmental Geochemistry II: A Tribute to Ian Kaplan
Colorado Convention Center: C101/103
1:30 PM-5:30 PM, Monday, October 28, 2002
 

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