Late accretion to the Moon recorded in zircon (U-Th)/He thermochronometry

TL;DR

This study uses zircon (U-Th)/He thermochronometry to identify and date impact events on the Moon, revealing impact history at approximately 3950 Ma and 110 Ma through thermal modeling and zircon dating.

Contribution

It introduces zircon (U-Th)/He thermochronometry as a new method to detect low-temperature impact events on the Moon, extending the temporal resolution of impact history.

Findings

Zircon (U-Th)/He dates show impact events at ~3950 Ma and ~110 Ma.

Thermal modeling constrains impact heating temperatures and cooling rates.

Zircon can retain helium over billions of years, serving as a long-term impact record.

Abstract

We conducted zircon (U-Th)/He (ZHe) analysis of lunar impact-melt breccia 14311 with the aim of leveraging radiation damage accumulated in zircon over extended intervals to detect low-temperature or short-lived impact events that have previously eluded traditional isotopic dating techniques. Our ZHe data record a coherent date vs. effective Uranium concentration (eU) trend characterized by >3500 Ma dates from low (<75 ppm) eU zircon grains, and ca. 110 Ma dates for high (>100 ppm) eU grains. A progression between these date populations is apparent for intermediate (75-100 ppm) eU grains. Thermal history modeling constrains permissible temperatures and cooling rates during and following impacts. Modeling shows that the data are most simply explained by impact events at ca. 3950 Ma and ca. 110 Ma, and limits allowable temperatures of heating events between 3950-110 Ma. Modeling of solar cycling thermal effects at the lunar surface precludes this as the explanation for the ca. 110 Ma ZHe dates. We propose a sample history characterized by zircon resetting during the ca. 3950 Ma Imbrium impact event, with subsequent heating during an impact at ca. 110 Ma that ejected the sample to the vicinity of its collection site. Our data show that zircon has the potential to retain 4He over immense timescales (>3950 Myrs), thus providing a valuable new thermochronometer for probing the impact histories of lunar samples, and martian or asteroidal meteorites.