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Silicic lithologies on planetary surfaces indicate magmatic evolutionary processes in their interiors. The Wolf crater complex within Mare Nubium on the Moon is one such silicic construct associated with a high thorium anomaly. This study integrates morphological, compositional, chronological and gravity anomaly analyses of high‐resolution data from various lunar missions to establish this construct as a silicic volcanic caldera. Lobate flows with steeply sloping fronts indicate that the crater rims comprise high‐viscosity silicic lavas, while the structurally controlled inner crater walls suggest caldera collapse triggered by magma depletion. In the crater rims, low Christiansen Feature position values reaffirm the presence of silicic lithologies, consistent with the low gravity anomaly signature beneath the complex, while spectroscopic data reveal low mafic mineral abundances and negligible hydration features. Chronological analyses yield silicic volcanism ages coeval with surrounding mare basalts (3.8–3.6 Ga), while intra‐caldera basalts have 2.36–2.02 Ga ages, indicating prolonged magmatism in this region. Melting of suitable crustal protoliths like alkali gabbronorite/monzogabbro/troctolite by basaltic underplating is inferred to have generated silicic magmas that formed the Wolf volcanic complex, instead of basaltic magma fractionation or silicate‐liquid immiscibility processes. Large impacts during the Late Heavy Bombardment may have enhanced partial melting of the mantle and created crustal fractures that facilitated the ascent of viscous silicic melts through the lunar crust. Contemporaneous existence of suitable protoliths and adequate crustal pathways for magma ascent may have controlled silicic volcanism on the Moon, and can explain the sporadic occurrence and overlapping ages of the lunar silicic constructs. Plain Language Summary: Understanding how evolved silica‐rich rocks formed on the Moon can shed light on the magmatic differentiation and thermal evolution of the lunar mantle. Here, we study one such silicic region called the Wolf crater complex on the lunar nearside using compositional and morphological evidence from high‐resolution images and remotely sensed data. Spectroscopic and gravity studies confirm that the rocks have a silicic composition but with negligible water content. The complex is characterized as a silicic volcanic crater/caldera that was later filled with basalt. Formation of the volcano and its collapse to form the caldera were controlled by pre‐existing structures. Ages calculated by crater‐counting methods suggest that magmatic activity persisted in this region for ∼2 billion years. These apparently dry silicic melts could not have been derived by fractionation or unmixing of basaltic magmas. Instead, large impacts in the region may have thinned the crust, enhancing partial melting of the underlying mantle and facilitating basaltic underplating of the crust. Melting of appropriate protoliths (alkali gabbronorite/monzogabbro/troctolite), where present in the underplated crust, may generate viscous silicic melts whose ascent is then facilitated by impact‐generated fractures. This model explains why lunar silicic constructs are rare and have ages broadly synchronous with the Late Heavy Bombardment. Key Points: The Wolf crater complex is a volcanic caldera where silicic volcanism occurred between ∼3.6–3.7 Ga, followed by mafic volcanism till ∼2.02 GaStructural trends imposed by regional pre‐existing fracture systems facilitated both melt eruption and caldera collapseNear anhydrous melting of appropriate crustal protoliths caused by basaltic underplating generated the silicic melts [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The timing of the onset of plate tectonics on Earth remains a topic of strong debate, as does the tectonic mode that preceded modern plate tectonics. Understanding possible tectonic modes and transitions between them is also important for other terrestrial planets such as Venus and rocky exoplanets. Recent two-dimensional modelling studies have demonstrated that impacts can initiate subduction during the early stages of terrestrial planet evolution—the Hadean and Eoarchean in Earth’s case. Here, we perform three-dimensional simulations of the influence of ongoing multiple impacts on early Earth tectonics and its effect on the distribution of compositional heterogeneity in the mantle, including the distribution of impactor material (both silicate and metallic). We compare two-dimensional and three-dimensional simulations to determine when geometry is important. Results show that impacts can induce subduction in both 2-D and 3-D and thus have a great influence on the global tectonic regime. The effect is particularly strong in cases that otherwise display stagnant-lid tectonics: impacts can shift them to having a plate-like regime. In such cases, however, plate-like behaviour is temporary: as the impactor flux decreases the system returns to what it was without impacts. Impacts result in both greater production of oceanic crust and greater recycling of it, increasing the build-up of subducted crust above the core-mantle boundary and in the transition zone. Impactor material is mainly located in the upper mantle, at least at the end of the modelled 500-million-year period. In 2-D simulations, in contrast to 3-D simulations, impacts are less frequent but each has a larger effect on surface mobility, making the simulations more stochastic. These stronger 2-D subduction events can mix both recycled basalt and impactor material into the lower mantle. These results thus demonstrate that impacts can make a first-order difference to the early tectonics and mantle mixing of Earth and other large terrestrial planets, and that three-dimensional simulations are important to obtain less stochastic results, and also to not over- or under-predict the amount of impactor material mixed into the mantle and the time during which a specific tectonic regime acts.

• We present the first comparison of in situ dating techniques for Apollo samples. • 207Pb/206Pb dates of two impactites are more than 100 Ma older than interpreted 40Ar/39Ar ages. • 40Ar/39Ar dates of Apollo impactites may not date impact-melting events. • Less than 16% of the lunar surface is likely to contain U-Pb datable accessory minerals. • Dating strategies are proposed for the future lunar returned samples. Investigations of Apollo-returned samples radically altered our understanding of lunar history which has important implications for terrestrial habitability and Solar System evolution. Radiometric dating of those samples inspired the hypothesis that Moon experienced a Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB) at ∼3.9 Ga. The LHB concept has come under several recent challenges, including the concern that 40Ar/39Ar step-heating dates of Apollo impactites had been misinterpreted. Ultraviolet laser ablation (UVLAMP) 40Ar/39Ar dates – with their capacity for much higher spatial resolution and thus potential to avoid dating near-ubiquitous clasts in impact melt rocks – should in principle provide more interpretable results. Here we compare new ion microprobe 207Pb/206Pb accessory mineral dates for two Apollo 17 impactites for which UVLAMP 40Ar/39Ar dates had been previously obtained. Our results are consistent with a single accessory phase growth event for each sample, though the two samples yielded statistically different mean ages of ca. 3.974±0.013 and 3.928±0.003 Ga. Both can reasonably be interpreted as dating an impact event, but the 207Pb/206Pb dates are older than the associated 40Ar/39Ar dates by several hundred million years. We interpret that the age differences result from subsequent thermal disturbances. The discordancy between impact ages inferred from lunar impactites using two different radiometric systems suggests caution in acceptance of the LHB hypothesis without the benefit of both larger lunar datasets and more multichronometric studies. Even with such information, our capacity to know the lunar bombardment history is likely limited by compositional and thermal effects which appear to restrict growth of impact-produced accessory minerals to a small fraction of the lunar surface. Using currently available datasets, the LHB hypothesis may be effectively untestable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The timing of the onset of plate tectonics on Earth remains a topic of strong debate, as does the tectonic mode that preceded modern plate tectonics. Understanding possible tectonic modes and transitions between them is also important for other terrestrial planets such as Venus and rocky exoplanets. Recent two-dimensional modelling studies have demonstrated that impacts can initiate subduction during the early stages of terrestrial planet evolution—the Hadean and Eoarchean in Earth's case. Here, we perform three-dimensional simulations of the influence of ongoing multiple impacts on early Earth tectonics and its effect on the distribution of compositional heterogeneity in the mantle, including the distribution of impactor material (both silicate and metallic). We compare two-dimensional and three-dimensional simulations to determine when geometry is important. Results show that impacts can induce subduction in both 2-D and 3-D and thus have a great influence on the global tectonic regime. The effect is particularly strong in cases that otherwise display stagnant-lid tectonics: impacts can shift them to having a plate-like regime. In such cases, however, plate-like behaviour is temporary: as the impactor flux decreases the system returns to what it was without impacts. Impacts result in both greater production of oceanic crust and greater recycling of it, increasing the build-up of subducted crust above the core-mantle boundary and in the transition zone. Impactor material is mainly located in the upper mantle, at least at the end of the modelled 500-million-year period. In 2-D simulations, in contrast to 3-D simulations, impacts are less frequent but each has a larger effect on surface mobility, making the simulations more stochastic. These stronger 2-D subduction events can mix both recycled basalt and impactor material into the lower mantle. These results thus demonstrate that impacts can make a first-order difference to the early tectonics and mantle mixing of Earth and other large terrestrial planets, and that three-dimensional simulations are important to obtain less stochastic results, and also to not over- or under-predict the amount of impactor material mixed into the mantle and the time during which a specific tectonic regime acts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mercury has one of the best‐preserved impact records in the inner solar system due to the absence of an atmosphere and relatively unmodified ancient surface. However, our knowledge of the early impact record and the nature of the impacting projectiles are far from complete. To get a better understanding of the early impact history, we examined large impact basins (D ≥ 300 km) on Mercury. Here we cataloged 94 basins, 80 of which we classify as certain or probable, 1.7 times more than previously recognized. We re‐evaluate the crater densities of basins using the buffered nonsparseness correction technique, which we successfully applied for the Moon. In contrast with a previous study, we find that basins have a slightly higher N(300) crater density on Mercury than on the Moon, but similar N(500) basin densities. Based on these results and comparison with the Moon, we infer that no more than half of the basin record remains observable and basins older than Borealis have generally been erased from the basin record. Furthermore, we establish the stratigraphic relationships of basins based on N(25) crater frequencies, absolute model ages, and observations of crosscutting relationships. Similarly to our previous study on the Moon, we found no evidence for a change in the size‐frequency distribution of the impacting population; thus, our results are consistent with a single impactor population that bombarded Mercury's surface. Key Points: We cataloged 94 basins on Mercury, 1.7 times more certain and probable basins than in previous worksWe observe roughly half of the basin record, where basins older than Borealis are completely erasedOur results are consistent with a single impactor population that bombarded the surface of Mercury [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large impact craters that pierced the early Earth’s thin hot crust formed scars that never fully healed. These scars provided initial geological conditions for our planet and its deep plumbing system. On oceanic crust they provide arcuate downdipping sites, which, eroded, eventually allowed subduction to occur. On continental crust, they determine many geological features, which are generally difficult to see because they are covered by later formations through which repropagated fractures have not attained the surface. Shock criteria for the identification of astroblemes are absent because they were immediately swamped by the disproportionate amount of melt produced by very large impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Certain hard and normally opaque minerals, both rare and common, occasionally crystallize as transparent or partly transparent ‘gem’ crystals. Such stones, designated ‘crystalline coloured gemstones’ (CCGs), form under highly constrained just-so ‘Goldilocks’ conditions that did not exist prior to the last supercontinent cycle. One set of gem-forming conditions arises during continent-to-continent collisions. Another comes into existence during the breakup of continents and produces distinctively different gems. Over 50 different CCG-forming metamorphic and pegmatitic minerals of the first type crystallize in certain orogenic areas near the edges of continents. In East Africa, the Himalayas, Pamirs and Hindu Kush, groups of CCG deposits formed near the leading edge of the upper plate during the collisions, and are associated with large scale circular arcs. Gems of the second type, which are for the most part blue-green-yellow magmatic sapphires, occur in conjunction with continental volcanism in eastern Australia, far eastern Russia, eastern China, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Rwanda, Cameroon, Nigeria and elsewhere. Orogeny causes deep fractures to be regenerated upward into younger rocks. CCG deposits of the first type are systematically associated with ancient fractures originating from below, vestiges of the Earth’s early history. Fractures may be older than the rocks in which they are observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Major impact events have shaped the Earth as we know it. The Late Heavy Bombardment is of particular interest because it immediately precedes the first evidence of life. The reentry of impact ejecta creates numerous chemical by‐products, including biotic precursors such as HCN. This work examines the production of HCN during the Late Heavy Bombardment in more detail. We stochastically simulate the range of impacts on the early Earth and use models developed from existing studies to predict the corresponding ejecta properties. Using multiphase flow methods and finite‐rate equilibrium chemistry, we then find the HCN production due to the resulting atmospheric heating. We use Direct Simulation Monte Carlo to develop a correction factor to account for increased yields due to thermochemical nonequilibrium. We then model 1‐D atmospheric turbulent diffusion to find the time accurate transport of HCN to lower altitudes and ultimately surface water. Existing works estimate the necessary HCN molarity threshold to promote polymerization that is 0.01 M. For a mixing depth of 100 m, we find that the Late Heavy Bombardment will produce at least one impact event above this threshold with probability 24.1% for an oxidized atmosphere and 56.3% for a partially reduced atmosphere. For a mixing depth of 10 m, the probability is 79.5% for an oxidized atmosphere and 96.9% for a partially reduced atmosphere. Therefore, Late Heavy Bombardment impact ejecta is likely an HCN source sufficient for polymerization in shallow bodies of water, particularly if the atmosphere were in a partially reduced state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the history of the paradigm concerning a lunar (or solar-system-wide) terminal cataclysm (also called “Late Heavy Bombardment” or LHB), a putative, brief spike in impacts at ~3.9 Ga ago, preceded by low impact rates. We examine origin of the ideas, why they were accepted, and why the ideas are currently being seriously revised, if not abandoned. The paper is divided into the following sections: Overview of paradigm. Pre-Apollo views (1949−1969). Initial suggestions of cataclysm (ca. 1974). Ironies. Alternative suggestions, megaregolith evolution (1970s). Impact melt rocks “establish” cataclysm (1990). Imbrium redux (ca. 1998). Impact melt clasts (early 2000s). Dating of front-side lunar basins? Dynamical models “explain” the cataclysm (c. 2000s). Asteroids as a test case. Impact melts predating 4.0 Ga ago (ca. 2008−present.). Biological issues. Growing doubts (ca. 1994−2014). Evolving Dynamical Models (ca. 2001−present). Connections to lunar origin. Dismantling the paradigm (2015−2018). “Megaregolith Evolution Model” for explaining the data. Conclusions and new directions for future work.

Oxygen isotopes in marine cherts have been used to infer hot oceans during the Archean with temperatures between 60 °C (333 K) and 80 °C (353 K). Such climates are challenging for the early Earth warmed by the faint young Sun. The interpretation of the data has therefore been controversial. 1D climate modeling inferred that such hot climates would require very high levels of CO 2 (2–6 bars). Previous carbon cycle modeling concluded that such stable hot climates were impossible and that the carbon cycle should lead to cold climates during the Hadean and the Archean. Here, we revisit the climate and carbon cycle of the early Earth at 3.8 Ga using a 3D climate-carbon model. We find that CO 2 partial pressures of around 1 bar could have produced hot climates given a low land fraction and cloud feedback effects. However, such high CO 2 partial pressures should not have been stable because of the weathering of terrestrial and oceanic basalts, producing an efficient stabilizing feedback. Moreover, the weathering of impact ejecta during the Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB) would have strongly reduced the CO 2 partial pressure leading to cold climates and potentially snowball Earth events after large impacts. Our results therefore favor cold or temperate climates with global mean temperatures between around 8 °C (281 K) and 30 °C (303 K) and with 0.1–0.36 bar of CO 2 for the late Hadean and early Archean. Finally, our model suggests that the carbon cycle was efficient for preserving clement conditions on the early Earth without necessarily requiring any other greenhouse gas or warming process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the results of a coordinated SIMS U–Pb, trace element, Ti-in-zircon thermometry, and microstructural study of 155 lunar zircons separated from Apollo 14, 15, and 17 breccia and soil samples that help resolve discrepancies between the zircon data, the lunar whole rock history and lunar magma ocean crystallization models. The majority of lunar grains are detrital fragments, some nearly 1 mm in length, of large parent crystals suggesting that they crystallized in highly enriched KREEP magmas. The zircon age distributions for all three landing sites exhibit an abundance of ages at ∼4.33 Ga, however they differ in that only Apollo 14 samples have a population of zircons with ages between 4.1 and 3.9 Ga. These younger grains comprise only 10% of all dated lunar zircons and are usually small and highly shocked making them more susceptible to Pb-loss. These observations suggest that the majority of zircons crystallized before 4.1 Ga and that KREEP magmatism had predominantly ceased by this time. We also observed that trace element analyses are easily affected by contributions from inclusions (typically injected impact melt) within SIMS analyses spots. After filtering for these effects, rare-earth element (REE) abundances of pristine zircon are consistent with one pattern characterized by a negative Eu anomaly and no positive Ce anomaly, implying that the zircons formed in a reducing environment. This inference is consistent with crystallization temperatures based on measured Ti concentrations and new estimates of oxide activities which imply temperatures ranging between 958 ± 57 and 1321 ± 100 °C, suggesting that zircon parent magmas were anhydrous. Together, the lunar zircon ages and trace elements are consistent with a ⩽300 My duration of KREEP magmatism under anhydrous, reducing conditions. We also report two granular texture zircons that contain baddeleyite cores, which both yield 207 Pb– 206 Pb ages of 4.33 Ga. These grains are our best constraints on impact ages within our sample population, and suggest at least one large impact is contemporaneous with the most common time of magmatic zircon formation on the Moon’s crust visited by the Apollo missions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]