293-5 Integrated Spectroscopy of Pyroxenes: Pushing Remote Geochemical Analyses Further

See more from this Division: Topical Sessions
See more from this Session: Preparations for the New Era of Lunar Science: Laboratory Measurements and New Insights into the Moon

Wednesday, 8 October 2008: 9:20 AM
George R. Brown Convention Center, 310AD

Rachel L. Klima1, Carle M. Pieters1 and M. Darby Dyar2, (1)Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI
(2)Dept. of Earth and Environment, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA
Abstract:
With the new generation of missions flying high spectral resolution spectrometers to the Moon, it is critical to strengthen the laboratory framework for remote mineralogical analyses. While mafic minerals are readily identifiable in the near-infrared, methods to better quantify specific chemistry and mineralogy are being improved. Pyroxenes, in particular, offer exciting possibilities for characterizing both the composition and thermal history of outcrops on the lunar surface. We will present integrated results from electron microprobe analyses, near-infrared and Mössbauer spectroscopy of a suite of pure Mg-Fe-Ca synthetic pyroxenes that allow us to directly link spectral parameters with specific absorptions and the crystal chemistry that produces them. Our results suggest that it is possible to go beyond the commonly used groupings of ‘high-Ca' and ‘low-Ca' pyroxene in remote analyses and further group pyroxenes as ortho- or clino- pyroxenes. The degree of Mg-Fe ordering between the M1 and M2 sites in pyroxene can also be assessed with high-spectral resolution remotely detected spectra. These results will then be applied to a suite of lunar pyroxene mineral separates and bulk rock samples to validate our methods with natural lunar samples.

See more from this Division: Topical Sessions
See more from this Session: Preparations for the New Era of Lunar Science: Laboratory Measurements and New Insights into the Moon