PROGRAM AND BSTRACT OLUME A V LPI Contribution No. 1439 Workshop on the EARLY SOLAR SYSTEM IMPACT BOMBARDMENT November 19–20, 2008 Houston, Texas Sponsored by Lunar and Planetary Institute National Aeronautics and Space Administration Conveners David A. Kring, Lunar and Planetary Institute William F. Bottke, Southwest Research Institute Scientific Organizing Committee Donald D. Bogard, NASA Johnson Space Center Barbara A. Cohen, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Michelle R. Kirchoff, Lunar and Planetary Institute Christian Koeberl, University of Vienna Stephen J. Mojzsis, University of Colorado With special assistance from Gary Lofgren and the Lunar Curatorial Office at the NASA Johnson Space Center Lunar and Planetary Institute 3600 Bay Area Boulevard Houston TX 77058-1113 LPI Contribution No. 1439 Compiled in 2008 by LUNAR AND PLANETARY INSTITUTE The Lunar and Planetary Institute is operated by the Universities Space Research Association under a cooperative agreement with the Science Mission Directorate of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this volume are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Material in this volume may be copied without restraint for library, abstract service, education, or personal research purposes; however, republication of any paper or portion thereof requires the written permission of the authors as well as the appropriate acknowledgment of this publication. Abstracts in this volume may be cited as Author A. B. (2008) Title of abstract. In Workshop on the Early Solar System Impact Bombardment, p. XX. LPI Contribution No. 1439, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston. This volume is distributed by ORDER DEPARTMENT Lunar and Planetary Institute 3600 Bay Area Boulevard Houston TX 77058-1113, USA Phone: 281-486-2172 Fax: 281-486-2186 E-mail: [email protected] A limited number of copies are available for the cost of shipping and handling. Visit the LPI Online Store at https://www.lpi.usra.edu/store/products.cfm ISSN No. 0161-5297 PREFACE This volume contains abstracts that have been accepted for presentation at the Workshop on the Early Solar System Impact Bombardment, November 19–20, 2008, Houston, Texas. Administration and publications support for this meeting were provided by the staff of the Publications and Program Services Department at the Lunar and Planetary Institute. Workshop on Early Solar System Impact Bombardment v CONTENTS Program .........................................................................................................................................................................1 Thermal State of the Terrestrial Lithosphere During the Late Heavy Bombardment: Implications for Habitability O. Abramov and S. J. Mojzsis ......................................................................................................................11 The Dichotomy-forming Impact on Mars: Evidence and Implications J. C. Andrews-Hanna and M. T. Zuber ........................................................................................................13 LCROSS: Implications for a Lunar Cataclysm G. D. Bart and A. Colaprete .........................................................................................................................15 Chronology of Impact Bombardment in the Early Solar System: An Overview D. D. Bogard ................................................................................................................................................17 Understanding the Impact Flux on the Moon over the Last 4.6 Gy W. F. Bottke, H. Levison, and A. Morbidelli ................................................................................................19 Carbonaceous Chondritic Microclasts in Meteorites: Samples of the Late Heavy Bombardment? G. Briani and M. Gounelle ...........................................................................................................................21 The Late Heavy Bombardment: Possible Influence on Mars D. M. Burt, L. P. Knauth, and K. H. Wohletz ...............................................................................................23 First MESSENGER Insights Concerning the Early Cratering History of Mercury C. R. Chapman, W. J. Merline, S. C. Solomon, J. W. Head III, and R. G. Strom .........................................25 A Review of Lunar Meteorite Impact-Melt Clast Compositions and Ages B. A. Cohen ..................................................................................................................................................27 Orbital Evolution of the Moon and the Lunar Cataclysm M. Ćuk ..........................................................................................................................................................29 Common 4.2 Ga Impact Age in Samples from Apollo 16 and 17 V. A. Fernandes, I. Garrick-Bethell, D. L. Shuster, and B. Weiss ................................................................30 Previously Unrecognized Large Impact Basins on Mars and the Moon: Implications for the Late Heavy Bombardment in the Inner Solar System H. V. Frey .....................................................................................................................................................32 4.2 Billion Year Old Ages from Apollo 16, 17, and the Lunar Farside: Age of the South Pole-Aitken Basin? I. Garrick-Bethell, V. A. Fernandes, B. P. Weiss, D. L. Shuster, and T. A. Becker ......................................34 Review of Cratering Evidence Regarding Early Solar System Bombardment W. K. Hartmann ...........................................................................................................................................36 Bombardment History of the Saturnian Satellites M. R. Kirchoff and P. M. Schenk ..................................................................................................................37 vi LPI Contribution No. 1439 Cyanide Production by Chemical Reactions Between Impactor Material and an Ambient Atmosphere After an Oblique Impact K. Kurosawa, K. Ishibashi, Y. Sekine, S. Sugita, T. Kadono, S. Ohno, N. Ohkouchi, N. O. Ogawa, and T. Matsui ...................................................................................................39 Evidence for Planet Migration in the Main Asteroid Belt: Implications for the Duration of the Late Heavy Bombardment D. A. Minton and R. Malhotra ......................................................................................................................41 Can Impactors from the Main Asteroid Belt Erase a Cometary Cratering Record on the Moon? D. A. Minton, R. G. Strom, and R. Malhotra ................................................................................................43 Impact Origin of Chlorine-bearing Materials of Salty Sea-Water of Early Earth, Compared with Those on Mars and the Moon Y. Miura ........................................................................................................................................................45 Exploring for Early Bombardments on Earth from Pre-3.83 Ga Thermal Effects Recorded in Hadean Zircons — A Status Report S. J. Mojzsis, O. Abramov, T. M. Harrison, D. A. Kring, H. F. Levison, D. Trail, and E. B. Watson ...........................................................................................................................47 Lunar Basins and Breccias M. D. Norman ...............................................................................................................................................49 Chronology and Provenance of Lunar KREEP: A 4.0 or 4.1 Ga Age for Serenitatis? L. E. Nyquist and C.-Y. Shih .........................................................................................................................51 Construction of a Volatile Rich Martian Upper Crust During the Impact Cataclysm J. A. P. Rodriguez and J. Kargel ..................................................................................................................53 Impactor Survivors as Additional Sources for the Late Heavy Bombardment P. H. Schultz and D. A. Crawford ................................................................................................................55 After the Dust Has Settled: Hydrothermally-driven Chemical and Mineralogical Changes in Planetary Crust Following Impact Events S. P. Schwenzer and D. A. Kring ..................................................................................................................57 Chronological Evidence for the Late Heavy Bombardment in Ordinary Chondrite Meteorites T. D. Swindle and D. A. Kring ......................................................................................................................59 Highly Siderophile Elements in the Earth, Moon, and Mars: Update and Implications for Planetary Accretion and Differentiation R. J. Walker, I. S. Puchtel, J. M. Day, A. D. Brandon, O. B. James, and L. Loudin ....................................61 USMI — Ultraviolet Spectral Mapping Instrument for the German Lunar Exploration Orbiter (LEO) K. Werner, J. Barnstedt, N. Kappelmann, W. Kley, H. Tomczyk, H. Wende, H. U. Keller, U. Mall, H. Becker-Roß, S. Florek, H. Hoffmann, S. Mottola, D. Kampf, and G. Staton .....................................................................................63 Impacts in the Earth-Moon System as Told by Lunar Impact Glasses N.