Determining Ages of Key Events on the Moon: Refining the Moon’s Geologic History
When
Where
Dr. Bradley Jolliff
Scott Rudolph Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences
and Director, McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences
Washington University in St. Louis
Fifty-plus years of analysis of Apollo samples has revealed much about the ages of key events on the Moon, especially for volcanic surfaces and impact craters and basins. Yet much remains to be learned and new samples from specific locations may yet reveal important new ages. We will discuss ages of materials ranging from some of the youngest basalts to impact melt rocks that date the great Imbrium basin, to even older KREEP-rich impact melt, and finally, the age and significance of the giant South Pole-Aitken basin, the Moon’s largest and oldest recognizable impact structure.