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Reprocessing of lunar crust at ∼4.3 Ga inferred from in situ U-Pb isotopic and trace element investigation of Northwest Africa 11479.

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Title: Reprocessing of lunar crust at ∼4.3 Ga inferred from in situ U-Pb isotopic and trace element investigation of Northwest Africa 11479.
Authors: Chen, Jingyou1 (AUTHOR), Li, Shaolin1,2 (AUTHOR) lisl@sstm.org.cn, Liao, Shiyong3 (AUTHOR), Chen, Jian4 (AUTHOR), Nemchin, Alexander5 (AUTHOR), Joy, Katherine H.6 (AUTHOR), Che, Xiaochao7 (AUTHOR), Hsu, Weibiao3 (AUTHOR), Zhu, Menghua1,8 (AUTHOR) mhzhu@must.edu.mo
Source: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. Feb2026, Vol. 415, p56-70. 15p.
Subjects: Metasomatism, Uranium-lead dating, Lunar craters, Meteorites, Lunar surface, Crust of the earth, Trace elements
Geographic Terms: Northwest Africa
Abstract: The increasing identification of magnesian anorthosites (MAN) in lunar meteorites, along with inferences from remote sensing techniques, has intensified research interest in understanding their role in lunar crust formation. However, the lack of robust geochronological constraints for MAN impeded our comprehension of the timeline of crustal evolution. The lunar feldspathic breccia meteorite, Northwest Africa (NWA) 11479, is composed primarily of Mg-rich, KREEP-poor (K, rare earth elements, and P) highland lithic fragments, predominantly consisting of magnesian anorthositic lithologies (including anorthosite noritic/troctolitic anorthosites, and the associated magnesian granulites). The close chemical match between the bulk rock and lunar remote sensing data supports a farside origin, providing evidence for the presence of MAN in the Feldspathic Highlands Terrane (FHT). Zircon and apatite grains have been discovered within the small Mg-rich anorthositic clasts in NWA 11479. Notably, the occurrence of these highly evolved accessory minerals contrasts with the depletion of incompatible trace elements in the coexisting silicates, suggesting their formation via interactions between the anorthositic crust and a later-stage KREEPy metasomatic melt. In-situ U-Pb isotopic analysis of the zircon and apatite yields a well-defined discordia line, with an upper intercept date of 4328 ± 9 Ma (2σ), and a lower intercept date of 140 ± 64 Ma (2σ). The younger age likely reflects a more recent impact event, whereas the upper intercept is consistent with both the concordant U-Pb zircon date (4327 ± 12 Ma, 2σ) and the weighted average 207Pb/206Pb date of the zircon and apatite (4326 ± 8 Ma, 2σ). This ∼ 4.33 Ga age is interpreted as the timing of metasomatism responsible for the formation of the zircon and apatite, or an impact event. Importantly, this age obtained from the putative-origin meteorite coincides with the period (4.3–4.35 Ga) of the active secondary magmatism recorded in nearside-collected Apollo samples, the proposed formation age of the giant South Pole–Aitken (SPA) basin. These temporal correlations suggest that this epoch represents a major phase of global reworking of the primordial lunar crust, likely driven by the overturn of mantle cumulates, and further associated with basin‑scale impact events, or both. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta is the property of Pergamon Press - An Imprint of Elsevier Science 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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DbLabel: Engineering Source
An: 191168279
AccessLevel: 6
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PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
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  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Reprocessing of lunar crust at ∼4.3 Ga inferred from in situ U-Pb isotopic and trace element investigation of Northwest Africa 11479.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Chen%2C+Jingyou%22">Chen, Jingyou</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Li%2C+Shaolin%22">Li, Shaolin</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> lisl@sstm.org.cn</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Liao%2C+Shiyong%22">Liao, Shiyong</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Chen%2C+Jian%22">Chen, Jian</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Nemchin%2C+Alexander%22">Nemchin, Alexander</searchLink><relatesTo>5</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Joy%2C+Katherine+H%2E%22">Joy, Katherine H.</searchLink><relatesTo>6</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Che%2C+Xiaochao%22">Che, Xiaochao</searchLink><relatesTo>7</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hsu%2C+Weibiao%22">Hsu, Weibiao</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zhu%2C+Menghua%22">Zhu, Menghua</searchLink><relatesTo>1,8</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> mhzhu@must.edu.mo</i>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Geochimica+et+Cosmochimica+Acta%22">Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta</searchLink>. Feb2026, Vol. 415, p56-70. 15p.
– Name: Subject
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Metasomatism%22">Metasomatism</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Uranium-lead+dating%22">Uranium-lead dating</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Lunar+craters%22">Lunar craters</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Meteorites%22">Meteorites</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Lunar+surface%22">Lunar surface</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Crust+of+the+earth%22">Crust of the earth</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Trace+elements%22">Trace elements</searchLink>
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  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Northwest+Africa%22">Northwest Africa</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: The increasing identification of magnesian anorthosites (MAN) in lunar meteorites, along with inferences from remote sensing techniques, has intensified research interest in understanding their role in lunar crust formation. However, the lack of robust geochronological constraints for MAN impeded our comprehension of the timeline of crustal evolution. The lunar feldspathic breccia meteorite, Northwest Africa (NWA) 11479, is composed primarily of Mg-rich, KREEP-poor (K, rare earth elements, and P) highland lithic fragments, predominantly consisting of magnesian anorthositic lithologies (including anorthosite noritic/troctolitic anorthosites, and the associated magnesian granulites). The close chemical match between the bulk rock and lunar remote sensing data supports a farside origin, providing evidence for the presence of MAN in the Feldspathic Highlands Terrane (FHT). Zircon and apatite grains have been discovered within the small Mg-rich anorthositic clasts in NWA 11479. Notably, the occurrence of these highly evolved accessory minerals contrasts with the depletion of incompatible trace elements in the coexisting silicates, suggesting their formation via interactions between the anorthositic crust and a later-stage KREEPy metasomatic melt. In-situ U-Pb isotopic analysis of the zircon and apatite yields a well-defined discordia line, with an upper intercept date of 4328 ± 9 Ma (2σ), and a lower intercept date of 140 ± 64 Ma (2σ). The younger age likely reflects a more recent impact event, whereas the upper intercept is consistent with both the concordant U-Pb zircon date (4327 ± 12 Ma, 2σ) and the weighted average 207Pb/206Pb date of the zircon and apatite (4326 ± 8 Ma, 2σ). This ∼ 4.33 Ga age is interpreted as the timing of metasomatism responsible for the formation of the zircon and apatite, or an impact event. Importantly, this age obtained from the putative-origin meteorite coincides with the period (4.3–4.35 Ga) of the active secondary magmatism recorded in nearside-collected Apollo samples, the proposed formation age of the giant South Pole–Aitken (SPA) basin. These temporal correlations suggest that this epoch represents a major phase of global reworking of the primordial lunar crust, likely driven by the overturn of mantle cumulates, and further associated with basin‑scale impact events, or both. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta is the property of Pergamon Press - An Imprint of Elsevier Science 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:
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    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1016/j.gca.2026.01.007
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 15
        StartPage: 56
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Metasomatism
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Uranium-lead dating
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Lunar craters
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Meteorites
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Lunar surface
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Crust of the earth
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Trace elements
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Northwest Africa
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Reprocessing of lunar crust at ∼4.3 Ga inferred from in situ U-Pb isotopic and trace element investigation of Northwest Africa 11479.
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            NameFull: Chen, Jingyou
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            NameFull: Li, Shaolin
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              M: 02
              Text: Feb2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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