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Anin situ measurement of the lunar neutron density from 20 to 400 g cm−2 depth below the lunar surface was made by the Apollo 17 Lunar Neutron Probe Experiment (LNPE) using particle tracks produced by the10B (n,α)7Li reaction. Both the absolute magnitude and the depth profile of the neutron density are in good agreement with theoretical calculations by Lingenfelter, Canfield, and Hampel. However, relatively small deviations between experiment and theory in the effect of Cd absorption on the neutron density and in the relative149Sm to157Gd capture rates reported previously (Russet al., 1972) imply that the true lunar157Gd capture rate is about one half of that calculated theoretically.

The microscale distribution of U and Th has been studied by fission track radiography in a set of Ca-Al-rich inclusions from the Allende meteorite. In the Type B inclusions, generally believed to have been melted, the major phases melilite and fassaite are important actinide host phases with similar Th/U and roughly three times higher concentrations in melilite than fassaite. Significant enrichments are also found on grain boundaries and in some regions of alteration. The distribution is not completely understood in terms of igneous partitioning and may also reflect incomplete assimilation of relict materials during melting. On the rims of Type B inclusions and throughout all other inclusions studied, perovskite is the dominant actinide host phase. However, perovskite does not have a characteristic Th/U value; measured ratios range from 1.4 to 12, both above and below the accepted solar system value of 3.8. Overall, neither alteration nor loss or gain of an actinide-rich phase appears to have been an important Th/U fractionation mechanism; volatility differences may be the dominant factor. Some results, e.g., high Th/U for “fluffy” Type A inclusions, can be interpreted as resulting from incomplete incorporation of the more volatile U during a primary condensation stage, but more complex interpretations are required for inclusions with low Th/U. The Th/U and REE abundance patterns for the spinel plus perovskite rim suggest derivation of this rim by volatilization of interior material. The time scale for this heating is required to be brief (

Using fission and alpha track radiography techniques, we have measured partition coefficients (D) for the actinide elements Th, U and Pu between diopsidic clinopyroxene, whitlockite [β-Ca_3 (PO_4)_2] and silicate liquid at 20kbar. Equilibrium partitioning at the crystal-liquid interface is assumed, and corrections for actinide zoning have been applied to the measured D values. Reproducibility for both actinide and minor element D values is carefully examined as a criterion for crystal-liquid interface equilibrium. The data are mostly compatible with interface equilibrium except for experiments at high cooling rates ( ⪸ 30 deg/hr). Partition coefficients for Th/U/Pu of about 0.002/0.002/0.06 are measured for clinopyroxene and 1.2/0.5/3.4 for whitlockite. At an oxygen fugacity of 10^(−8.5), Pu is much more readily incorporated into the crystalline phases than is U or Th because of the importance of trivalent Pu. The D_(Pu)(cpx) is similar to D(cpx) of the light rare earths supporting the concept of Pu/(rare earth) dating.

Studies have been made of the boron content and distribution in recent Mytilus edulis shells by mapping the alpha particle distribution produced by the 10B (n,α)7Li reaction using cellulose nitrate track detectors. Boron is concentrated in the inorganic parts of the shell matrix and is enriched in aragonite relative to calcite by a factor of 1.5–2. The B contents in different parts of individual shells and in different specimens from a given locality are well defined, particularly for the aragonite layer. A correlation was found between the B in the aragonite layer and the salinity of the water in which the shells grew. The method shows promise as a means of using the boron content of fossil shells to determine paleosalinity.

Fission and alpha track radiography techniques have been used to measure partition coefficients (D) at trace (ppm) concentration levels for the actinide elements Th, U, and Pu between synthetic whitlockite and coexisting “haplobasaltic” silicate liquid at 1 bar pressure and 1250°C at oxygen fugacities from 10^(−8.5) and 10^(−0.7) bars. Pu is much more readily incorporated into crystalline phases than is U or Th under reducing conditions (fO_2 = 10^(−8.5)), because Pu is primarily trivalent, whereas U and Th are tetravalent. Definitive valence state assignments cannot be made, but our best estimates of corrected partition coefficients for Pu^(+3), Pu^(+4), Th^(+4), U^(+4), and U^(+6) are, for whitlockite 3.6/

High precision proton-induced X-ray (PIXE) thick target spectra of carbonaceous meteorites have been deconvoluted using previously described programs. Even in cases of totally overlapping peaks excellent fits to spectra were obtained. Concentrations for 15 elements in the mass range 56–100, as well as Pb, agree well in most cases with previous literature values. The total concentration range studied was over 105, with the lowest concentrations precisely analyzed being around 1 ppm.

The sputtering of the lunar surface by the solar wind is examined as a possible mechanism of mass fractionation. Simple arguments based on current theories of sputtering and the ballistics of the sputtered atoms suggest that most ejected atoms will have sufficiently high energy to escape lunar gravity. However, the fraction of atoms which falls back to the surface is enriched in the heavier atomic components in relation to the lighter ones. This material is incorporated into the heavily radiation-damaged outer surfaces of grains, where it is subject to resputtering. Calculations predict that an equilibrium surface layer, enriched in heavier atoms, will form with δ(^(18)O) ≈ +20‰ ≈ δ(^(30)Si) and that oxygen will be depleted on the surface layers of grains relative to the bulk composition by about 12.5%. These results are in fair agreement with experiment. The dependence of the calculated results upon the energy spectrum of sputtered particles is investigated. We conclude that mass fractionation by solar wind sputtering is likely to be an important phenomenon on the lunar surface but that the complex isotopic variations observed in lunar soils cannot be completely explained by this mechanism.

We have analyzed B in carbonaceous chondrites in order to clarify a factor of 100 difference between the solar system B abundance derived from the solar photosphere and that inferred from previous meteorite data. Consistent results were obtained from two instrumental methods for B analysis: (a) counting of the high energy betas from ^(12)B produced by the ^(11)B(d,p) reaction, and (b) measurement of particle track densities from ^(10)B(n,α)^7Li in a plastic track detector affixed to a homogenized meteorite sample. Contamination is a major problem in B analyses, but extensive testing showed that our results were not seriously affected. Our B concentrations are typically 1–2 ppm and are a factor of 2–6 lower than previous carbonaceous chondrite measurements. Our data for the Cl chondrites Ivuna and Orgueil would indicate a solar system B/Si atomic abundance ratio of 58 × 10^(−6), but this is still a factor of 2–10 higher than the photospheric estimates. It may be that B is depleted in the sun by thermonuclear processes; however, the similarity of photospheric and meteoritic Be abundances is a problem for this point of view. Alternatively, B may be enhanced in carbonaceous chondrites, but this would make B a cosmochemically unique element. A mm-sized (Fe,Mn,Mg)CO_3 crystal from Orgueil shows no B enrichment. We find ^(10)B ≤ 10^(16) atoms/g in two Allende fine-grained inclusions suggesting that B is not a refractory element under solar nebula conditions. This ^(10)B limit, when taken as a limit on ^(10)Be when the inclusion formed, puts constraints on the possibility of a solar system synthesis of ^(26)Al. For a proton spectrum of E^(−a), a must be ≥ 3 if a solar gas is irradiated or a ≥1.5 if dust of solar composition is irradiated.

Polished sections of 5 enstatite chondrites have been irradiated with 30 MeV ^4He ions to produce the alpha-radioactive nuclei ^(211)At and ^(210)Po from ^(209)Bi and ^(208)Pb, respectively. The distribution of alpha activity can be mapped, using cellulose nitrate as an alpha track detector, to give the corresponding Bi or Pb distributions in the meteorite. No strong localization of Bi or ^(208)Pb was found; relatively uniform track distributions were observed. In particular, metal or sulfide grains are not enriched in Bi or Pb (relative to bulk), which is in agreement with the predictions of nebular condensation calculations. While the track distributions appear uniform, the results of detailed, track-by-track mappings of the Bi detectors indicate that the Bi is not totally randomly distributed; the statistical fluctuations in the observed track density are different for the cases where the Bi is totally randomly distributed and where the Bi is localized in point sources. Assuming that the Bi in a given sample is localized in identical point sources which are uniformly distributed throughout the sample, the observed relative population densities of clusters (‘stars’) of small numbers of tracks (2–5) corresponds to Bi being localized, with ~90% in grains with about 10^(−16)g-Bi (~3 × 10^5 Bi atoms), and with ~10% in 4 × 10^(−14) g-Bi sources. If these are elemental Bi, as predicted theoretically, they are ~ 10^2 A and 10^3 A in size, respectively.

Oldhamite is a major Th and U bearing phase in the enstatite meteorites. Oldhamite from E-6 chondrites has mean Th and U abundances of 1550 ± 80 ppb Th and 410 ± 20 ppb U, with Th/U = 3.8 ± .2. With the exception of ferroan alabandite which contains 25 ± 1 ppb U, no other Th or U enriched phases were located in the E-6 chondrites, and nearly all of the total rock Th and U can be accounted for by oldhamite. In Khairpur (E6), excess fossil fission tracks were observed in enstatite grains in contact with oldhamite which indicates the presence of ^(244)Pu in oldhamite. Oldhamite from St. Mark's (E5) and Abee (E4) also shows actinide enrichments but at levels about half the E-6 results. Niningerite in Abee contains 45 ± 5 ppb U and due to its high reported modal abundance is an important U reservoir in Abee. The U content of oldhamite from the aubrite Pena Blanca Spring is 1920 ± 100 ppb. All Th/U values measured in this study cluster tightly around a value of 4 which indicates a lack of Th-U fractionation in both oldhamite and in the enstatite meteorites, themselves. This lack of fractionation, along with the presence of ^(244)Pu in oldhamite and reported rare earth enrichments also in oldhamite, suggests that the enstatite chondrites may be well-suited for Pu-U chronology and for providing the initial Pu-U value in the early solar system.

A technique is described whereby the spatial distribution and amounts of 208 Pb and Bi can be determined on a microscopic scale. Samples are irradiated with 30 MeV 4 He ions, forming alpha radioactive nuclei: 211 At from 209 Bi and 210 Po from 208 Pb. The alpha radioactivity distribution in the sample is mapped using cellulose nitrate track detectors. With practical irradiation conditions, Bi and Pb concentrations in the ppm range can be quantitatively measured on a 0.1–1 mm scale and micronsized particles containing picogram quantities of these elements can be identified.

The identification of CI chondrite concentrations with average solar system abundances for heavy elements is based primarily on the smoothness of the CI abundance curves for odd mass nuclei. A good test of smoothness is measurement of all elements in a given mass range in the same sample with the same technique. High precision proton-induced X-ray spectra of CI chondrites yielded analyses of 17 elements (Ni through Ru, plus Fe and Pb) with precisions better than 10% for all except As, Pb, Nb, and Ru. Excellent theoretical descriptions of the spectra were obtained. Two independent estimates of precision agree well, giving confidence in the quoted errors. Intersample differences are the largest source of variability. Within these limits good agreement with literature results are obtained, except for As and Y. Although our Y values are 10 to 30% lower than previously adopted, amonoelemental s-process peak in the abundance curve at Y is still necessary. Except for Br (higher by 59% in Ivuna), there are no significant concentration differences between Orgueil and Ivuna. In general, our results confirm previous abundance curves. The abundances are exceptionally smooth and strongly decreasing in the mass 60–75 region. From mass 75–101 a smooth curve can be drawn, within limits of intersample variability, except for the Y peak. Over the whole periodic table a large number of peaks of probable nucleosynthetic origin can be identified, some understood, some not. These smoothness deviations are 10 to 30% and set an overall limit to the smoothness argument alone in justifying using CI abundances as average solar system values.

We find strong localizations (relative to bulk) of Bi and to a lesser extent Pb. in some of the kamacite grains in Khohar. Other kamacite grains show no such enrichments. There are distinctive and correlated differences in the Ni contents of the two kamacite populations, with the Bi/Pb-rich kamacite grains having consistently lower Ni levels (sometimes unusually low. ~ 2% Ni) than the Bi/Pb-poor kamacite, which typically have ~ 6–7% Ni. The Bi/Pb-rich kamacite grains are also distinguished on the basis of their etching behavior, exhibiting a highly reactive attack, which has not been observed previously and which we believe may be due to the fact that the Bi/Pb-rich kamacite is finely polycrystalline. We conclude that the trace element microdistributions were not established in the nebula. Nor is it likely that the enrichments occurred with slow cooling in the presence of a vapor phase during the kamacite-taenite phase transition. Rather, the Bi/Pb-rich kamacite most likely reflect the occurrence of a brief reheating episode (or episodes), which may have been shock-induced and which was followed by rapid cooling. We find fine-grained metal-sulfide intergrowths which testify to such a reheating event, and one likely candidate for the site of this event is a hot ejecta blanket at the parent body surface. Iron oxides are found in our Khohar sections. We believe that they are not due to terrestrial alteration, that they are magnetite and that the magnetite probably originated in the same dynamic event in which the Bi/Pb distributions were established. The present data do not allow us to confidently determine whether the event occurred prior to, during, or after the compaction of this meteorite, although the simplest interpretation of the data would indicate the first alternative. Bulk Bi data for Khohar has been used for inferring accretion temperatures and this now appears inappropriate.

A detailed study of the U distribution of the St. Severin chondrite has been made by fission track radiography in order to clarify the interpretation of fission Xe thermal release data in terms of the mineralogical location of the fission Xe within the meteorite. This is of importance because the ^(244)Pu/^(238)U ratio for St. Severin has been widely adopted as the average solar system value. The U contents of the constituent minerals cannot account for the total rock U which, instead, appears to be primarily localized on grain boundaries. The greatest localizations of U are in olivine-poor, orthopyroxene-rich ‘clasts’. Our data coupled with those of Podosek (1970a) show that ^(244)Pu in St. Severin was also located on grain boundaries and that the bulk of Pu and U are unfractionated within this meteorite. Due to recoil, the ^(244)Pu fission Xe is found in 10 micron surface layers on major phases. Assuming that the grain boundaries (on which the Pu was located) was formed during metamorphism, the ^(244)Pu/^(238)U ratio for St. Severin applies to a time subsequent to the textural recrystallization of the meteorite. Our data support the interpretation of Podosek and our best estimate of the solar system ^(244)Pu/^(238)U is 0.015.

Two meteorites were analyzed by PIXE with the Los Alamos nuclear microprobe. The enstatite achondrite Pena Blanca Spring and the ordinary chondrite St Severin were chosen as likely candidates for use in ^(244)Pu(t_(l/2)=82 my) cosmochronology and geochronology. These applications require the meteoritic minerals to have unfractionated actinides and lanthanides relative to “cosmic” elemental abundance ratios. The PIXE analyses produced evidence of actinide-lanthanide fractionation in Pena Blanca Spring oldhamite (CaS) whereas the St Severin phosphates, whitlockite and chlorapatite, do not exhibit this fractionation.

Results are described for studies designed to develop routine methods for in-situ measurement of the abundance of Th and U on a microscale in heterogeneous samples, especially rocks, using the secondary high-energy neutron flux developed when the 650 MeV proton beam of an accelerator is stopped in a 42 x 42 cm diam Cu cylinder. Irradiations were performed at three different locations in a rabbit tube in the beam stop area, and thick metal foils of Bi, Th, and natural U as well as polished silicate glasses of known U and Th contents were used as targets and were placed in contact with mica which served as a fission track detector. In many cases both bare and Cd-covered detectors were exposed. The exposed mica samples were etched in 48% HF and the fission tracks counted by conventional transmitted light microscopy. Relative fission cross sections are examined, along with absolute Th track production rates, interaction tracks, and a comparison of measured and calculated fission rates. The practicality of fast neutron radiography revealed by experiments to data is discussed primarily for Th/U measurements, and mixtures of other fissionable nuclei are briefly considered.

Average irradiation depths and exposure ages of Tranquillity Base rocks are computed on the basis of eight analyses of the five noble gases in whole rock samples and lunar separates from lunar rocks, in conjunction with available literature data. Correlated variations in He-3/Ne-21 and Ar-38/Ne-21 reflect shielding differences. This correlation cannot be explained by diffusion losses, even though evidence for gas loss is obtained from mineral separate data. A qualitative shielding sequence is constructed which agrees reasonably well with the sequence based on Gd isotopic data.

Study of the isotopic composition of gadolinium and samarium in four soil and seven drill stem samples returned by the Apollo 15 mission. The results show the possibility to date sedimentary processes on the lunar surface for time scales of around 100 million years because of the particular dependence of neutron capture reactions on depth. The neutron flux has a distinct peak as a function of depth. This peak appears to lie below the level of shallow cratering for time scales of less than one billion years and consequently forms a readily identified marker layer of both depth and time.

Rb-Sr internal isochrons of crystalline lunar rocks from Tranquility Sea for moon age estimation

Xe and Kr isotopes gas extraction and mass spectrometer analyses of Apollo 11 lunar soil, Murray carbonaceous chondrite and atmospheric Xe

High precision isotopic composition measurements of Sm have been carried out for two terrestrial and seven lunar samples from three Apollo sites. The lunar samples, selected to show a wide variation in cosmic ray exposure ages, have a wide range of enrichments in150Sm/154Sm (up to 0.8%) and depletions in149Sm/154Sm which are due to neutron capture. The ratio of the number of neutrons captured per atom by149Sm to157Gd is 0.9 and reflects a hardened lunar neutron spectrum. This ratio is in reasonable but not exact agreement with that obtained from the theoretical lunar neutron energy spectrum of Lingenfelter, Canfield and Hampel. The average composition for terrestrial samarium is144Sm :147Sm :148Sm :149Sm :150Sm :152Sm :154Sm = 3.074 : 14.995 : 11.243 : 13.820 : 7.380 : 26.739 : 22.749%.

A technique employing the resonant nuclear reaction ^1H(^(19)F, αγ) ^(16)O has been used to measure hydrogen concentration versus depth in selected coarse fine fragments from the Apollo 11 and Apollo 15 missions, and in glass coated surface chips from two Apollo 15 rocks. The highly variable hydrogen content in the coarse fine fragments is concentrated mainly in a layer extending from the surface to a depth of 2000 ± 500A˚. The hydrogen content of the surface region of the Apollo 15 rock chips is comparable to that of the coarse fine samples, but is concentrated mainly within a few hundred angstroms of the surface. The hydrogen depth distribution in a piece of platinum foil from the Apollo 16 Lunar surface Cosmic Ray Experiment was also measured in an attempt to place a limit on the flux of 10–40 keV protons associated with a solar flare event.

Fowler, Greenstein, and Hoyle have proposed that the inner solar system was heavily irradiated during its formation. A consequence of this proposal is that sizable differences in meteoritic and terrestrial K^(41)/K^(40) ratios are possible if the fraction of material which was irradiated was different in the two cases. The isotopic composition of potassium was measured by mass spectrometry for nine stone meteorites, silicate from the Vaca Muerta mesosiderite and the Weekeroo Station iron meteorite, and four terrestrial samples. The measured K^(41)/K^(40) ratios were corrected by normalizing the measured K^(39)/K^(41) ratio to the Nier value of 13.47. This normalization procedure approximately cancels out any variations in the isotopic abundance except those due to nuclear processes. Measurements on enriched standards showed that any variations greater than 1% would certainly have been detected, and variations greater than ½% would probably have been detected with replicate analyses. Within these limits, no variations in the K^(40) abundance between the terrestrial and meteoritic samples could be found which could be ascribed to particle irradiation in the early history of the solar system. Small K^(40) enrichments were observed in Norton County, Weekeroo Station, and Vaca Muerta; however, these appear to have been produced during cosmic-ray irradiation by the Ca^(40)(n, p) reaction. The present results set relatively strong limitations on possible mechanisms for the formation of the earth and the meteorites if the idea of a large-scale irradiation in the early history of the solar system is to be retained. Independent of the model of Fowler et al., limits have been placed on any differential uniform irradiation. The implications of the present work on the K-Ar ages of stone and iron meteorites are discussed. The possibility that iron meteorites are considerably older than the solar system as a whole appears unlikely.

Rb-Sr analyses of silicates from the Colomera iron meteorite show a wide range in Rb/Sr and give 87 Sr 86 Sr values ranging from 0.699 to 8.45. These analyses define a precise linear array on the Rb-Sr evolution diagram yielding an age of 4.61 ± 0.04 × 109yr. A highprecision analysis of a whitlockite separate having very low Rb/Sr yields an initial ( 87 Sr 86 Sr ) I = 0.69940 ± 0.00004 . An upper limit of 48 ± 7 million years can be set for the time interval between dispersion of the silicate in the metal phase and final Sr isotopic equilibration, if we assume that Colomera silicate formed from a parent material which had the same initial 87 Sr 86 Sr as Ca-rich achondrites. The data are consistent with a simple evolutionary history in which Colomera differentiated from a parent material of chondritie Rb Sr ratio at a time 39 million years after the parent material had the initial 87 Sr 86 Sr of Ca-rich achondrites and 35 million years before the final Sr equilibration in the Guarena chondrite.

Lunar rocks isotopic composition for Gd and variations due to low energy neutron capture produced by cosmic ray interactions

Measurements have been conducted of the amounts and isotopic composition of Xe and Kr in silicate inclusions of several iron meteorites. It is shown that the Xe and Kr contents are comparable to chondritic values. The isotopic compositions show trapped gas of both chondritic and atmospheric composition. Large spallation effects occur in some of the meteorites; the spallation spectra in some instances differ from those reported for stone meteorites. In several meteorites, very large neutron capture effects on Br and I occur. All samples have pronounced Xe129 excesses which apparently indicate differences in the formation times from chondrites of less than about 100 million years; however, the presence of trapped Xe132 in silicates which were enclosed in molten Fe-Ni and cooled slowly proves that they were not entirely outgassed, so that some of the Xe129 excess may also be trapped.

A general review of lunar science is presented, utilizing two themes: a summary of fundamental problems relating to the composition, structure, and history of the moon and a discussion of some surprising, unanticipated results obtained from Apollo lunar science. (1) The moon has a crust of approximately 60-km thickness, probably composed of feldspar-rich rocks. Such rocks are exposed at the surface in the light-colored lunar highlands. Many highlands rocks are complex impact breccias, perhaps produced by large basin-forming impacts. Most highlands rocks have ages of ∼3.9 × 10^9 yr; the record of igneous activity at older times is obscured by the intense bombardment. The impact rate decreased sharply at 3.8–3.9 × 10^9 yr ago. The impact basins were filled by flows of Fe- and, locally, Ti-rich volcanic rocks creating the dark mare regions and providing the strong visual color contrast of the moon, as viewed from earth. Crustal formation has produced enrichments in many elements, e.g., Ba, Sr, rare earths, and U, analogous to terrestrial crustal rocks. Compared with these elements, relatively volatile elements like Na, K, Rb, and Pb are highly depleted in the source regions for lunar surface rocks. These source regions were also separated from a metal phase, probably before being incorporated into the moon. The physical properties of the lunar mantle are compatible with mixtures of olvine and pyroxene, although Ca- and Al-rich compositions cannot be ruled out. Deeper regions, below ∼1000 km, are probably partially molten. (2) Lunar rocks cooled in the presence of a magnetic field very much stronger than the one that exists today, owing either to dynamo action in an ancient molten core or to an external magnetization of the moon. Lunar soil properties cannot be explained strictly by broken-up local rocks. Distant impacts throw in exotic material from other parts of the moon. About 1% of the soil appears to be of meteoritic origin. Vertical mixing by impacts is important; essentially all material sampled from lunar cores shows evidence of surface residence. The surface layers of lunar material exposed to space contain a chemical record of implanted solar material (rare gases, H) and constituents of a lunar atmosphere (^(40)Ar, Pb). Large isotopic fractionation effects for O, Si, S, and K are present. Physical properties of the surface layers are dominated by radiation damage effects. Lunar rocks have impact craters (≤1 cm) produced by microgram-sized interplanetary particles. The contemporary micrometeorite flux may be much higher than is indicated by the microcrater densities, indicating time variations in the flux. Particle track studies on the returned Surveyor camera filter first showed that the Fe nuclei were preferentially enhanced in solar flares.

A nuclear microprobe cannot give direct information on the chemical state of an element, but the spatial distribution of elements in a specimen is often determined by the chemical history of the sample. Fuel cells and minerals are examples of complex systems whose elemental distributions are determined by past chemical history. The distribution of catalyst in used fuel cell electrodes provides direct information on the chemical stability of dispersed catalysts under operating conditions. We have used spatially resolved Rutherford backscattering to measure the migration of platinum and vanadium from intermetallic catalysts and to determine their suitability for use under the extreme operating conditions found in phosphoric acid fuel cells. Geologic materials are complex, heterogeneous samples with small mineral grains. The trace element distribution within the individual mineral grains and between different mineral phases is sensitive to the details of the mineral formation and history. The spatial resolution and sub-100-ppm sensitivity available with a nuclear microprobe open up several new classes of experiments to the geochemist. Geochemistry and electrochemistry are two areas proving particularly fruitful for application of the nuclear microprobe.

The possibility of heating of planetary cores by K radioactivity has been extensively discussed, as well as the possibility that K partitioning into the terrestrial core is the reason for the difference between the terrestrial and chondritic K/U. We had previously suggested that U and Th partitioning into FeFeS liquids was more important than K. Laboratory FeFeS liquid, silicate liquid partition coefficient measurements (D) for K, U, and Th were made to test this suggestion. For a basaltic liquid at 1450°C and 1.5 GPa, D_U is 0.013 and D_K is 0.0026; thus U partitioning into FeFeS liquids is 5 times greater than K partitioning under these conditions. There are problems with 1-atm experiments in that they do not appear to equilibrate or reverse. However, measurable U and Th partitioning into sulfide was nearly always observed, but K partitioning was normally not observed (D_K ≲ 10^(−4)). A typical value for D_U from a granitic silicate liquid at one atmosphere, 1150°C, and low f0_2 is about 0.02; D_(Th) is similar. At low f0_2 and higher temperature, experiments with basaltic liquids produce strong Ca and U partitioning into the sulfide liquid with D_U > 1. D_(Th) is less strongly affected. Because of the consistently low D_K/D_U, pressure effects near the core-mantle boundary would need to increase D_U by factors of ∼10^3 with much smaller increases in DU in order to have the terrestrial K and U abundances at chondritic levels. In addition, if radioactive heating is important for planetary cores, U and Th will be more important than K unless the lower mantle has K/U greater than 10 times chondritic or large changes in partition coefficients with conditions reverse the relative importance of K versus U and Th from our measurements.

In the Hvittis enstatite chondrite fission track radiography shows that U is highly concentrated in CaS (oldhamite), with a concentration of 400±50 ppb. The oldhamite U concentrations are equilibrated, although intergrain concentration variations of less than 15% would not be detected. Various approaches to a U material balance do not agree, but at least 50% and, more likely, nearly 100% of the U is concentrated in CaS. It is likely that CaS is the major reservoir for other actinide and lanthanide elements as well. Consequently, enstatite chondrites may provide reliable Pu/U abundance ratios. The highly reducing formation conditions for enstatite chondrites have caused U to deviate from lithophile behaviour, but K is observed to remain lithophile. Although this observation may not be generalizable, we propose that discussions of radioactive heating of planetary cores should include U and Th and not focus exclusively on K.

A discussion of the ages determined by various methods is given. The results of 87Rb-87Sr, and 40K-40Ar ages on the silicate phases of iron meteorites are summarized as well as the internal isochrons on stone meteorites. The data for Kodaikanal are reviewed and the importance of recognizing events of intermediate age in the formation of planetary objects is emphasized. It is shown that it is possible to resolve time events by high precision Sr measurements to 5 x 107 years for chondrites.

The isotopic composition of Gd in one chondrite, two achondrites and the silicate inclusions of two meteorites have been determined. When corrected for mass discrimination, Gd in all samples except the Norton County achondrite shows the same relative isotopic abundances as terrestrial Gd. These results set an upper limit of 3 × 10 15 neutrons per cm 2 on a differential integrated thermal neutron irradiation of the earth and these meteorites. Neutron capture effects are present in Gd extracted from the Norton County achondrite. These most probably have been produced by secondary neutrons during the exceptionally long cosmic ray exposure of this large stone meteorite. The isotopic anomalies correspond to an integrated thermal neutron flux of (6.3 ± 0.9) × 10 15 neutrons per cm 2 .

The isotopic composition of Gd in one chondrite, two achondrites, and the silicate inclusions of two iron meteorites has been determined. When corrected for mass discrimination, Gd in all samples except the Norton County achondrite shows the same relative isotopic abundances as terrestrial Gd. These results set an upper limit of 3×10^(15) neutrons per cm^2 on a differential integrated thermal neutron irradiation of the earth and these meteorites. Neutron-capture effects are present in Gd extracted from the Norton County achondrite. These most probably have been produced by secondary neutrons during the exceptionally long cosmic ray exposure of this large stone meteorite. The isotopic anomalies correspond to an integrated thermal neutron flux of (6.3±0.9)×10^(15) neutrons per cm^2. The percent abundances of terrestrial Gd found in our work for Gd^(160), Gd^(158), Gd^(157), Gd^(156), Gd^(155), Gd^(154), and Gd^(152) are 21.863, 24.835, 15.652, 20.466, 14.800, 2.1809, and 0.2029, respectively. Because of the higher precision, these abundances should replace the currently accepted values.

Meteoritic whitlockite containing excess fission tracks has a large concentration of excess neutron-rich xenon isotopes which is 25 times that calculated from the track density. The isotopic spectrum is identical to that calculated previously for the Pasamonte achondrite. These results uniquely associate this spectrum with in situ fission. Identification of the fissioning nucleus as Pu244 gives Pu244/U238 ≅ 1/30 at the time of xenon retention. Neither "sudden" nor "uniform" nucleosynthetic models give consistent solutions for Pu244/U238 and U235/U238.

Whitlockite from the St. Severin chondrite, previously shown to contain excess fission tracks, is here shown to have a large concentration of excess neutron-rich xenon isotopes. The concentration of excess heavy Xe in the whitlockite is about twenty-five times that calculated from the track density. An isotopic spectrum is deduced that is identical to the spectrum calculated previously for excess heavy xenon in the Pasamonte achondrite. These results uniquely associate this xenon spectrum with in situ fission in meteorites. Chemical arguments support the correlation of this with Pu^(244). Identification of the fissioning nucleus as Pu^(244) gives Pu^(244)/U^(238) ≈ 1/30. Neither ‘sudden’ nor ‘uniform’ nucleosynthetic models give consistent solutions for Pu^(244)/U^(238) and U^(235)/U^(238).

In the past 2 years it has become apparent that a wide variety of experiments are possible on silicate inclusions which occur in many iron meteorites. Our efforts to date have been primarily involved in age-dating experiments on this material. This paper summarizes the results of several investigations that are being published elsewhere in greater detail.

The ^(87)Rb-^(87)Sr internal isochrons for five rocks yield an age of 3.65±0.05 × 10^9 years which presumably dates the formation of the Sea of Tranquillity. Potassium-argon ages are consistent with this result. The soil has a model age of 4.5 × 10^9 years, which is best regarded as the time of initial differentiation of the lunar crust. A peculiar rock fragment from the soil gave a model age of 4.44 × 10^9 years. Relative abundances of alkalis do not suggest differential volatilization. The irradiation history of lunar rocks is inferred from isotopic measurements of gadolinium, vanadium, and cosmogenic rare gases. Spallation xenon spectra exhibit a high and variable 1^(31)Xe/^(126)Xe ratio. No evidence for ^(129)I was found. The isotopic composition of solar-wind xenon is distinct from that of the atmosphere and of the average for carbonaceous chondrites, but the krypton composition appears similar to average carbonaceous chondrite krypton.

The isotopic compositions and concentrations of rubidium and strontium were determined in silicate nodules contained in Weekeroo Station meteorite, a brecciated coarse octahedrite. The strontium had a Sr^(87):Sr^(86) range from 0.729 to 0.768, showing considerable enrichment in Sr^(87) in comparison with achondrites. Data for six samples of nodules lie on a straight line on the Sr-Rb evolution diagram, with an initial Sr^(87):Sr^(86) ratio of 0.696 to 0.702; the slope is 0.0674, corresponding to an age of 4.7 x 10^9 years for λ = 1.39 x 10^(-11) year^(-1). These data agree with the previously assigned ages for the formation of stony meteorites and the earth; they support the conclusion that the major period of chemical and physical differentiation in the solar system occurred in a narrow interval at about this time. This result disagrees with the Ar^(40)-K^(40) ages of 5 to 13 x 10^9 years determined from other iron meteorites. A wide variety of isotopic-age investigations now seem experimentally feasible on iron meteorites that contain silicates.