[meteorite-list] Fw: Tektites & Soil

From: meteorites_at_space.com <meteorites_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:46:24 2004
Message-ID: <20010514003812.28229.cpmta_at_c000.snv.cp.net>

On Sun, 13 May 2001, "Darryl S. Futrell" wrote:

>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: meteorites_at_space.com <meteorites@space.com>
> To: futrelds_at_gte.net <futrelds@gte.net>
> Cc: meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com
> <meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com>
> Date: Sunday, April 29, 2001 12:08 PM
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Fw: Tektites & Soil
>
>
>
>
>
> Awhile back, Steve Schoner posted a bunch of statements. There are a few
> that I haven't discussed recently. They are:
>
> "Lack of tektite samples from the Apollo missions...."
>
>
> Not so! Apollo 14 soil samples contain plenty of sub-mm glass particles
> that have been shown to be a mix of lunar pyroclastics and impact glasses.
> This is briefly mentioned in T. S. Culler et al., 2000, Science 287,
> 1785-1788. Billy Glass (1976, Earth and Planet. Sci. Letters 33, studied 93
> of these glass particles that all had a silica content greater than 60 %.
> He found 30 of these, with silica contents between 72 and 78% silica, that
> appear to him to be the products of lunar acidic volcanism. John A. O'Keefe
> (1994, Meteoritics) claims that some of these are in the tektite family. As
> such, they should qualify as microtektites and chips of microtektites.
> Microtektites (a form of lunar pyroclastics) are the key to all tektite
> glasses (my 1999 Rock and Gem article). If one could find the lunar vent
> or conduit for the glasses mentioned by O'Keefe, they would have a tektite
> glass producing site. Such glasses must exist, due to gardening, in all
> Apollo soil samples, if people would look for them. Then, there is Apollo
> rock 12013, with the composition of certain Javanite tektites. Both Dean
> Chapman and J. A. O'Keefe had a lot to say about the significance of this
> rock. It's a fine grained volcanic rock, I would think like a rhyolite. If
> it had cooled faster, it could have been glass, but it didn't, and isn't.
> If its source could be located, perhaps some of the extruded material did
> cool faster. Then you would have lunar volcanic glasses with the overall
> composition of certain javanites.
>

Face it, these "glasses" that were obtained in the Apollo missions are a far cry from what tektites are-- like apples and oranges.

Morphologically they are worlds apart, and chemically, too.

I think that for one to say that they are the same is like saying apples and oranges look the same and taste the same.
 
>
>
> "Come on... Controversy is the field upon which truth grows."
>
> I believe that may be the case for certain other fields of science, but when
> it comes to tektites, the is absoluitely not the case! I think it's now
> been about two years since my "tektite debate history" thing was posted.
> There have been a lot of new members since then, and I know some of them
> would be interested. Besides, parts have been rewritten. TK.
>
> "The sad fact is that some refuse to submit to truth when it becomes
> apparent."
>
> Hey, MOST of them refuse to submit to truth when it becomes apparent! My
> papers and abstracts illustrating the volcanic origin of layered tektites
> are all illustrated! (With the exception of the 2000 one in METEORITE!)
> Look at the illustrations and judge for yourself! Or, better yet, come see
> the actual specimens for yourself, and THEN decide! In my opinion, relying
> only on premature geochemical constraints for lunar chemistries is poor
> science. Petrology should come first!
>
>

Yes, I agree, and the petrology as I understand it, and as the reasearchers are presenting it does not support a lunar origin.

I could tap some reasearchers at UCLA that are working on the problem and from what I gathered from Wasson last time I discussed this with him is that there is nothing to support a lunar origin. "They are terrestrial" as he said to me. I am certain that he has the research to back it up.

(But to tell you the truth, he is too busy researching tektites to enter into our squabbles)

Steve Schoner.


> Darryl
>
>
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Received on Sun 13 May 2001 08:38:12 PM PDT