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The oxidation state of sulfur in lunar apatite

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Published/Copyright: January 23, 2019
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American Mineralogist
From the journal American Mineralogist Volume 104 Issue 2

Abstract

Lunar apatites contain hundreds to thousands of parts per million of sulfur. This is puzzling because lunar basalts are thought to form in low oxygen fugacity (fO2) conditions where sulfur can only exist in its reduced form (S2–), a substitution not previously observed in natural apatite. We present measurements of the oxidation state of S in lunar apatites and associated mesostasis glass that show that lunar apatites and glass contain dominantly S2–, whereas natural apatites from Earth are only known to contain S6+. It is likely that many terrestrial and martian igneous rocks contain apatites with mixed sulfur oxidation states. The S6+/S2– ratios of such apatites could be used to quantify the fO2 values at which they crystallized, given information on the portioning of S6+ and S2– between apatite and melt and on the S6+/S2– ratios of melts as functions of fO2 and melt composition. Such a well-calibrated oxybarometer based on this the oxidation state of S in apatite would have wide application.

Keywords: Moon; oxygen; apatite; sulfur

  1. Funding

    This research was performed at GeoSoilEnviroCARS (The University of Chicago, Sector 13), APS ANL. GeoSoilEnviroCARS is supported by the National Science Foundation—Earth Sciences (EAR-1634415) and Department of Energy—GeoSciences (DE-FG02-94ER14466). This research used resources of APS, a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science user facility operated for the DOE Office of Science by ANL under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357. Support for this research was provided by the University of California and by NASA’s Planetary Science Research Program.

Acknowledgments

We thank A. Lanzirotti and M. Newville for assistance in beamline operations at the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory (APS ANL). We also thank the curatorial staff at NASA Johnson Space Center for allocations of Apollo samples for this study. We thank A. Bell, G. Ustunisik, and an anonymous reviewer for constructive comments.

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Received: 2018-08-31
Accepted: 2018-11-01
Published Online: 2019-01-23
Published in Print: 2019-02-25

© 2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Special collection: Planetary processes as revealed by sulfides and chalcophile elements
  2. Dating mantle peridotites using Re-Os isotopes: The complex message from whole rocks, base metal sulfides, and platinum group minerals
  3. In situ measurements of lead and other trace elements in abyssal peridotite sulfides
  4. Special collection: Volatile elements in differentiated planetary interiors
  5. A terrestrial magmatic hibonite-grossite-vanadium assemblage: Desilication and extreme reduction in a volcanic plumbing system, Mount Carmel, Israel
  6. Special collection: Understanding of reaction and deformation microstructures
  7. Intragranular plasticity vs. grain boundary sliding (GBS) in forsterite: Microstructural evidence at high pressures (3.5–5.0 GPa)
  8. Articles
  9. Excess functions of chlorite solid solutions and neoformation of Fe-chlorites: Some implications of recent thermochemical measurements
  10. Nanoscale study of lamellar exsolutions in clinopyroxene from olivine gabbro: Recording crystallization sequences in iron-rich layered intrusions
  11. Elasticity of single-crystal periclase at high pressure and temperature: The effect of iron on the elasticity and seismic parameters of ferropericlase in the lower mantle
  12. Elastic plastic self-consistent (EPSC) modeling of San Carlos olivine deformed in a D-DIA apparatus
  13. Kinetics of antigorite dehydration: Rapid dehydration as a trigger for lower-plane seismicity in subduction zones
  14. Sound wave velocities of Fe5Si at high-pressure and high-temperature conditions: Implications to lunar and planetary cores
  15. Evidence for syngenetic micro-inclusions of As3+- and As5+-containing Cu sulfides in hydrothermal pyrite
  16. The oxidation state of sulfur in lunar apatite
  17. Reviewers 2018
  18. American Mineralogist thanks the 2018 reviewers
https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2019-6804
Keywords for this article
Moon; oxygen; apatite; sulfur

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Special collection: Planetary processes as revealed by sulfides and chalcophile elements
  2. Dating mantle peridotites using Re-Os isotopes: The complex message from whole rocks, base metal sulfides, and platinum group minerals
  3. In situ measurements of lead and other trace elements in abyssal peridotite sulfides
  4. Special collection: Volatile elements in differentiated planetary interiors
  5. A terrestrial magmatic hibonite-grossite-vanadium assemblage: Desilication and extreme reduction in a volcanic plumbing system, Mount Carmel, Israel
  6. Special collection: Understanding of reaction and deformation microstructures
  7. Intragranular plasticity vs. grain boundary sliding (GBS) in forsterite: Microstructural evidence at high pressures (3.5–5.0 GPa)
  8. Articles
  9. Excess functions of chlorite solid solutions and neoformation of Fe-chlorites: Some implications of recent thermochemical measurements
  10. Nanoscale study of lamellar exsolutions in clinopyroxene from olivine gabbro: Recording crystallization sequences in iron-rich layered intrusions
  11. Elasticity of single-crystal periclase at high pressure and temperature: The effect of iron on the elasticity and seismic parameters of ferropericlase in the lower mantle
  12. Elastic plastic self-consistent (EPSC) modeling of San Carlos olivine deformed in a D-DIA apparatus
  13. Kinetics of antigorite dehydration: Rapid dehydration as a trigger for lower-plane seismicity in subduction zones
  14. Sound wave velocities of Fe5Si at high-pressure and high-temperature conditions: Implications to lunar and planetary cores
  15. Evidence for syngenetic micro-inclusions of As3+- and As5+-containing Cu sulfides in hydrothermal pyrite
  16. The oxidation state of sulfur in lunar apatite
  17. Reviewers 2018
  18. American Mineralogist thanks the 2018 reviewers
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