Formation of anorthosite on the Moon through magma ocean fractional crystallization

Lunar anorthosite is a major rock of the lunar highlands, which formed as a result of plagioclase-floatation in the lunar magma ocean (LMO). Constraints on the sufficient conditions that resulted in the formation of a thick pure anorthosite (mode of plagioclase >95 vol.%) is a key to reveal the early magmatic evolution of the terrestrial planets. To form the pure lunar anorthosite, plagioclase should have separated from the magma ocean with low crystal fraction. Crystal networks of plagioclase and mafic minerals develop when the crystal fraction in the magma (φ) is higher than ca. 40–60 vol.%, which inhibit the formation of pure anorthosite. In contrast, when φ is small, the magma ocean is highly turbulent, and plagioclase is likely to become entrained in the turbulent magma rather than separated from the melt. To determine the necessary conditions in which anorthosite forms from the LMO, this study adopted the energy criterion formulated by Solomatov. The composition of melt, temperature, and pressure when plagioclase crystallizes are constrained by using MELTS/pMELTS to calculate the density and viscosity of the melt. When plagioclase starts to crystallize, the Mg# of melt becomes 0.59 at 1291 °C. The density of the melt is smaller than that of plagioclase for P > 2.1 kbar (ca. 50 km deep), and the critical diameter of plagioclase to separate from the melt becomes larger than the typical crystal diameter of plagioclase (1.8–3 cm). This suggests that plagioclase is likely entrained in the LMO just after the plagioclase starts to crystallize. When the Mg# of melt becomes 0.54 at 1263 °C, the density of melt becomes larger than that of plagioclase even for 0 kbar. When the Mg# of melt decreases down to 0.46 at 1218 °C, the critical diameter of plagioclase to separate from the melt becomes 1.5–2.5 cm, which is nearly equal to the typical plagioclase of the lunar anorthosite. This suggests that plagioclase could separate from the melt. One of the differences between the Earth and the Moon is the presence of water. If the terrestrial magma ocean was saturated with H2O, plagioclase could not crystallize, and anorthosite could not form.