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Fluorine Diffusivity in Lunar Melts and Fluorine Content in the Lunar Interior.

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Title: Fluorine Diffusivity in Lunar Melts and Fluorine Content in the Lunar Interior.
Authors: Yan, Han1 (AUTHOR), Zhang, Li1 (AUTHOR) zl12345@ustc.edu.cn, Li, Wan‐Cai1 (AUTHOR), Guo, Xuan1 (AUTHOR), Ni, Huaiwei1,2 (AUTHOR)
Source: Journal of Geophysical Research. Planets. Jan2026, Vol. 131 Issue 1, p1-14. 14p.
Subject Terms: *Fluorine, Glass beads, Moon, Permeability, Desorption, Regolith, Magmas, Lunar exploration
Company/Entity: Apollo program (U.S.)
Abstract: Lunar volcanic glass beads, as the closest approximations for primary lunar magma, have experienced a significant degree of degassing during eruption. To retrieve their initial fluorine contents requires fluorine diffusivity data, which have yet to be experimentally determined for lunar melts. We have performed diffusion experiments at 0.5 GPa and 1,673–1,883 K in a piston cylinder apparatus for four synthesized lunar melts with compositions corresponding to Apollo green glass (GG), yellow glass (YG), orange glass (OG) and red glass (RG). The fluorine diffusion profiles yield fluorine diffusivities increasing mildly from GG to YG to OG to RG melt. The fluorine diffusivities of lunar melts are greater than F diffusivities in terrestrial melts by at least a factor of 2–10. We develop a general model for F diffusivity in terrestrial and lunar melts as a function of XSi+Al (mole fraction of Si and Al combined among all cations), which can reproduce experimental data within a factor of 3. Using the new fluorine diffusivity data, modeling of the fluorine profile in Apollo GG bead recovers a pre‐eruptive fluorine content of 11.4–15.4 μg/g. Assuming minimal volatile loss before magma fragmentation, the fluorine content is 0.6–1.8 μg/g in its mantle source. The fluorine content in the bulk silicate Moon is inferred to be 4.4–7.4 μg/g, which is consistent with previous estimates. This consistency confirms diffusion degassing as the major mechanism of fluorine depletion for glass beads. Our calculation indicates a depletion degree of 70%–82% for fluorine compared to bulk silicate Earth. Plain Language Summary: Small glass beads formed by ancient lunar volcanoes significantly lost their volatile elements during volcanic eruptions. To determine the original amount of fluorine (a volatile element), we need to know how fast fluorine moves through lunar melts. We conducted experiments at high temperature and high pressure to measure the mobility of fluorine in four kinds of lunar melts whose compositions match glass beads in Apollo mission samples (green, yellow, orange, red). The experimental results showed that fluorine moves faster in lunar melts than in terrestrial melts. We built a universal model to describe the mobility of fluorine in both lunar and terrestrial melts, which well matches the available data. Using our results, we find that the original fluorine content before eruption is 11.4–15.4 parts per million. The lunar mantle source of this green glass bead is estimated to contain 0.6–1.8 parts per million fluorine. The entire rocky Moon probably has 4.4–7.4 parts per million fluorine overall, which agrees well with previous estimates. This agreement confirms that the beads lost their fluorine mainly by escaping through melt during the eruption. It also shows that the Moon has 70%–82% less fluorine than the rocky part of Earth. Key Points: The F diffusivities in lunar melts with compositions analogous to lunar volcanic glass beads are higher than those in terrestrial meltsThe general model for F diffusivity in terrestrial and lunar melts can reproduce experimental data within a factor of 3The Apollo green glass bead initially contains 11.4–15.4 μg/g F, its mantle source 0.6–1.8 μg/g F and bulk silicate Moon 4.4–7.4 μg/g F [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Geophysical Research. Planets is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Fluorine Diffusivity in Lunar Melts and Fluorine Content in the Lunar Interior.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Yan%2C+Han%22">Yan, Han</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zhang%2C+Li%22">Zhang, Li</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> zl12345@ustc.edu.cn</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Li%2C+Wan‐Cai%22">Li, Wan‐Cai</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Guo%2C+Xuan%22">Guo, Xuan</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ni%2C+Huaiwei%22">Ni, Huaiwei</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Geophysical+Research%2E+Planets%22">Journal of Geophysical Research. Planets</searchLink>. Jan2026, Vol. 131 Issue 1, p1-14. 14p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Fluorine%22">Fluorine</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Glass+beads%22">Glass beads</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Moon%22">Moon</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Permeability%22">Permeability</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Desorption%22">Desorption</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Regolith%22">Regolith</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Magmas%22">Magmas</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Lunar+exploration%22">Lunar exploration</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Apollo+program+%28U%2ES%2E%29%22">Apollo program (U.S.)</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Lunar volcanic glass beads, as the closest approximations for primary lunar magma, have experienced a significant degree of degassing during eruption. To retrieve their initial fluorine contents requires fluorine diffusivity data, which have yet to be experimentally determined for lunar melts. We have performed diffusion experiments at 0.5 GPa and 1,673–1,883 K in a piston cylinder apparatus for four synthesized lunar melts with compositions corresponding to Apollo green glass (GG), yellow glass (YG), orange glass (OG) and red glass (RG). The fluorine diffusion profiles yield fluorine diffusivities increasing mildly from GG to YG to OG to RG melt. The fluorine diffusivities of lunar melts are greater than F diffusivities in terrestrial melts by at least a factor of 2–10. We develop a general model for F diffusivity in terrestrial and lunar melts as a function of XSi+Al (mole fraction of Si and Al combined among all cations), which can reproduce experimental data within a factor of 3. Using the new fluorine diffusivity data, modeling of the fluorine profile in Apollo GG bead recovers a pre‐eruptive fluorine content of 11.4–15.4 μg/g. Assuming minimal volatile loss before magma fragmentation, the fluorine content is 0.6–1.8 μg/g in its mantle source. The fluorine content in the bulk silicate Moon is inferred to be 4.4–7.4 μg/g, which is consistent with previous estimates. This consistency confirms diffusion degassing as the major mechanism of fluorine depletion for glass beads. Our calculation indicates a depletion degree of 70%–82% for fluorine compared to bulk silicate Earth. Plain Language Summary: Small glass beads formed by ancient lunar volcanoes significantly lost their volatile elements during volcanic eruptions. To determine the original amount of fluorine (a volatile element), we need to know how fast fluorine moves through lunar melts. We conducted experiments at high temperature and high pressure to measure the mobility of fluorine in four kinds of lunar melts whose compositions match glass beads in Apollo mission samples (green, yellow, orange, red). The experimental results showed that fluorine moves faster in lunar melts than in terrestrial melts. We built a universal model to describe the mobility of fluorine in both lunar and terrestrial melts, which well matches the available data. Using our results, we find that the original fluorine content before eruption is 11.4–15.4 parts per million. The lunar mantle source of this green glass bead is estimated to contain 0.6–1.8 parts per million fluorine. The entire rocky Moon probably has 4.4–7.4 parts per million fluorine overall, which agrees well with previous estimates. This agreement confirms that the beads lost their fluorine mainly by escaping through melt during the eruption. It also shows that the Moon has 70%–82% less fluorine than the rocky part of Earth. Key Points: The F diffusivities in lunar melts with compositions analogous to lunar volcanic glass beads are higher than those in terrestrial meltsThe general model for F diffusivity in terrestrial and lunar melts can reproduce experimental data within a factor of 3The Apollo green glass bead initially contains 11.4–15.4 μg/g F, its mantle source 0.6–1.8 μg/g F and bulk silicate Moon 4.4–7.4 μg/g F [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Geophysical Research. Planets is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1029/2025JE009192
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 14
        StartPage: 1
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Fluorine
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Glass beads
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Moon
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Permeability
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Desorption
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Regolith
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Magmas
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Lunar exploration
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Apollo program (U.S.)
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Fluorine Diffusivity in Lunar Melts and Fluorine Content in the Lunar Interior.
        Type: main
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          Name:
            NameFull: Yan, Han
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            NameFull: Zhang, Li
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            NameFull: Li, Wan‐Cai
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            NameFull: Guo, Xuan
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            NameFull: Ni, Huaiwei
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              M: 01
              Text: Jan2026
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              Y: 2026
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              Value: 131
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            – TitleFull: Journal of Geophysical Research. Planets
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