Evidence for transient atmospheres during eruptive outgassing on the Moon

TL;DR

This study provides evidence that the Moon experienced transient atmospheres during eruptive outgassing, affecting volatile isotope fractionation, with implications for lunar formation and volcanic history.

Contribution

It demonstrates that lunar volatile isotope fractionation is best explained by non-ideal Rayleigh distillation and reveals the presence of transient atmospheres during mare basalt eruptions.

Findings

Lunar isotope data normalized to chondrites fits non-ideal Rayleigh model.

Vapor phase pressure was higher during mare basalt eruptions.

Evidence suggests the Moon had a thin atmosphere during volcanic events.

Abstract

Events following the giant impact formation of the Moon are thought to have led to volatile depletion and concurrent mass-dependent fractionation of the isotopes of moderately volatile elements (MVE). The detailed processes and conditions surrounding this episode remain obscured and are not unified by a single model for all volatile elements and compounds. Using available data, including new Zn isotope data for eight lunar samples, we demonstrate that the isotopic fractionation of MVE in the Moon is best expressed by non-ideal Rayleigh distillation, approaching the fractionation factor {\alpha} using the reduced masses of the evaporated isotopologues. With these calculations a best fit for the data is obtained when the lunar MVE isotope data is normalized to ordinary or enstatite chondrites ({\Delta}Moon-OC,EC), rather than a bulk silicate Earth (BSE) composition. This analysis further indicates that the parent body from which the Moon formed cannot have partitioned S into its core based on S isotope compositions of lunar rocks. The best fit between {\Delta}Moon-OC,EC and modelled non-ideal Rayleigh fractionation is defined by a slope that corresponds to a saturation index of 90 +/- 4 %. In contrast, the older Highland suite is defined by a saturation index of 75 +/- 2 %, suggesting the vapor phase pressure was higher during mare basalt eruptions. This provides the first tangible evidence that the Moon was veiled by a thin atmosphere during mare basalt eruption events spanning at least from 3.8 to 3 billion years ago and implies that MVE isotope fractionation dominantly occurred after the Moon had accreted.