Stratigraphic studies: Part A: basalt stratigraphy of southern Mare Serenitatis

Mare Serenitatis has long been noted for its conspicuous dark border (fig. 29-1). The Apollo 17 metric photographs traverse this border in southern Mare Serenitatis and show clearly superposition relationships among the mare and mare-related stratigraphic units. These photographs, together with full-Moon photographs, albedo measurements, and color information (table 29-I), provide the basis for a revised stratigraphic framework for these presumedly basaltic rocks (figs. 29-2 and 29-3). In contrast to most previous studies, we conclude that the darker units are older than lighter ones. Similar conclusions have been reached by Bryan and Adams (part C of sec. 30) and Boyce and Dial (part C of this section). The relatively light-colored central part of Mare Serenitatis is thought to represent the youngest basalt in the region; a very dark unit that includes the Apollo 17 landing site is one of the oldest.