Difference between revisions of "KREEP"
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*[http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v336/n6201/abs/336751a0.html Quenching and disruption of lunar KREEP lava flows by impacts] | *[http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v336/n6201/abs/336751a0.html Quenching and disruption of lunar KREEP lava flows by impacts] | ||
*[http://66.225.140.1/minsci/future/geomoon.htm Mining in Manitoba: Lunar Geology] | *[http://66.225.140.1/minsci/future/geomoon.htm Mining in Manitoba: Lunar Geology] | ||
| + | *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KREEP Wikipedia] | ||
[[Category:Seleneology]] | [[Category:Seleneology]] | ||
Revision as of 10:32, 14 February 2007
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KREEP is an acronym used in geochemistry to represent a mixture of K-potassium, REE-rare earth elements, and P-phosphorus. Many scientists consider this component of lunar rocks to be the remnant of a magma ocean which is widely accepted to have covered the surface of the moon approximately 4.5 billion years ago after the moon formed from debris cast out in a cataclysmic collision between earth and another celestial body.
KREEP is a composite of what scientists term "incompatible elements": elements which cannot fit into the crystal structures formed by cooling magma and are left floating on the surface. It is considered a convenient tracer for researchers seeking to chronicle the volcanic history of the lunar surface, as well as impacts of celestial bodies.
KREEP is kicked up in the "splash out" produced in impacts taking place on or in close proximity to basaltic lava flows. Some of this splash out was brought back by the Apollo 15 mission in fragments generally smaller than 1cm. These samples are believed to have originated after the impact which formed the Imbrium basin[1].
