[meteorite-list] Fw: Tektites & Soil

From: Darryl S. Futrell <futrelds_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:44:15 2004
Message-ID: <05a901c100b9$888a4f80$81c71d3f_at_pavilion>

-----Original Message-----
From: E.L. Jones <jonee_at_epix.net>
To: Darryl S. Futrell <futrelds_at_gte.net>
Cc: meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com
<meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Monday, May 14, 2001 12:18 AM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Fw: Tektites & Soil


Deeply regret just now getting around to responding to this. Got around to
finally opening Elton's Post yesterday. From what I'ce seen and read, most
of the sub-mm Apollo lunar glass pyroclastics are individual little complete
"splashforms", and, as such, are still in their original erupted form and
have not been subjected to any pulverization by micrometeorites or larger
meteorites. In my 1999 Rock and Gem article, I explained and illustrated
that such lunar pyroclastics, when they fall to Earth, are called
microtektites. Generally, only the ones with certain compositions survive
devitrification here on Earth. The microtektites that welded together to
form layered tektites in the heat around the lunar conduits, or vents, are
the key to the other forms of tektite glass that are found on Earth.
Although sub-mm pyroclastics are found, I think, in all lunar soils in the
Apollo samples, in order for any sizable, or regular, splashform tektites to
be formed from them, a certain series of events must occur. I don't think
this series of events would occur very often. Therefore, one shouldn't
expect cm-sized splashform tektites to exist in most of the lunar soils.
They may exist in only a few areas. I've never given much thought before to
exposed sizable tektites (both layered and splashforms) being eventually
pulverized by micrometeorite, etc. impacts, but makes sense.

D. Futrell


>"Darryl S. Futrell" wrote:
><snip> Apollo 14 soil samples contain plenty of sub-mm glass particles that
>have been shown to be a mix of lunar pyroclastics and impact glasses.
>
">Is there a suggestion here that any tektites that may have been on the
surface
>of the moon, have been pulverized to sub-mm sized particles? Is
micrometeorite
>impact a plausible explaination as to the absence of sizeable tektites in
>return samples?"
>
>Elton
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Meteorite-list mailing list
>Meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com
>http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Received on Fri 29 Jun 2001 12:35:02 PM PDT