Siderophile Element Compositions of Lunar Impact Breccias: Implications for the Cataclysm and Early Earth

Highly siderophile element signatures of the two main textural and compositional groups of Apollo 17 impact melt breccias (poikilitics and aphanites) are consistent with EH chondrite impactor(s). Similar siderophile element signatures in both types of breccias implies either that multiple EH chondritic impactors were delivered to the Serenitatis region of the Moon within a narrow time interval, or that the two groups of breccias are petrogenetically related to a single impact event. To the extent that these breccias can be linked with the Serenitatis basin-forming event, this identifies one type of planetesimal responsible for creating a large nearside lunar basin, possibly during a terminal cataclysm. Owing to its larger size and greater gravitational focusing, the Earth would have experienced a significantly greater cratering rate (20x) and mass accretion rate (100x) compared to the Moon. If there was a terminal cataclysm, the Earth must have been hit by several large impacts during the crucial period in which the oldest preserved continental crust was forming and early life was evolving. If EH chondrites are found to be an important population for creating the 3.8 to 4.0 Ga lunar basins, their fractionated HSE pattern may have contributed to mantle heterogeneity on Earth. However, the dry and highly reduced nature of EH chondrites would preclude a significant contribution from these planetesimals to the volatile budget of the Earth and the oxidation of the terrestrial mantle. Additional studies of highly siderophile elements in lunar impact breccias and ancient terrestrial rocks are needed to establish the composition of infalling planetesimals on the early Earth and Moon, and the contribution of large impact events to the subsequent evolution of the Earth and other terrestrial planets.