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Houck 1982
Houck, K.J. (1982). Modal petrology of six soils from Apollo 16 double drive tube core 64002. Journal of Geophysical Research 87. doi: 10.1029/JS087iS01p0A210. issn: 0148-0227.

Detailed petrographic data were collected from six size fractions for six samples from Apollo 16 drive tube section 64002. Soils from the core were found to have similar source rocks (defined as anorthosites, impact melts, and metamorphosed breccia) to Apollo 16 surface soils and core 60009. Two slightly differing sets of source rocks, one with a metamorphosed breccia to crystalline matrix breccia ratio of ~2:3 and the other with a ratio of ~1:1, were defined for the upper and lower sections of the core, respectively. Analysis of modal data shows that the upper three and the lowermost core soils are mature and have similar maturation histories, whereas the two middle soils are submature and have maturation histories similar to each other but differing from the upper and lowermost soils. In core 64002 soils, mixing has dominated over reworking. Mixing components are thought to be two mature soils distinguished by differing source rocks, and an immature plagioclase-rich soil. The plagioclase-rich soil is most prominent in the submature section of the core, and appears to correlate with larger clasts of chalky, friable breccia. The friable breccias and the immature plagioclase-rich soil are tentatively associated with the Descartes Formation. Supplementation of retrographic data with 53Mn, ferromagnetic resonance (FMR), and core dissection data allows division of the core into three zones. The upper mature zone is fairly homogeneous and was recently deposited in a short span of time. The middle submature zone is less homogeneous, more plagioclase rich, and may be an ejecta deposit. The lower zone, though mature and homogeneous, has the same source rocks as the middle zone.

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Journal of Geophysical Research
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American Geophysical Union
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