Definition
Lunar chronology is a discipline of researching on dating the age and time series of the geologic event or the evolutionary history of the Moon based on radiogenic ages of Lunar sample.
Chronology of lunar sample and its application in the study of lunar evolution
Based on the theory of radioactive decay, electron probe microanalysis dating method is applied to calculate the formation age of the minerals or rocks by measuring the contents of some radiogenic isotopes. Ages of Lunar geologic units and events can be obtained by analysis of Lunar sample. Methods of radiogenic isotope dating include Hf-W, 40Ar-39Ar, Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd, U-Pb, and Pb-Pb isotope dating.
Lunar samples are rocks and soils returned by six manned Apollo missions and three robotic Luna missions from different geologic settings on the Moon and Lunar meteorites. The Apollo and Luna missions had collected 382 kg and 0.3 kg of samples, respectively.
The lithology of Lunar sample consists of igneous rocks,...
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Chen, S. (2020). Chronology, Lunar Samples. In: Cudnik, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Lunar Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05546-6_205-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05546-6_205-1
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