Lawrence (Larry) A. Taylor-Planetary Geochemist

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Although originally starting as an economic geologist/experimental petrologist, the return of the first Apollo samples from the Moon played a major role in my research interests and funding. It was the mineralogy, petrology, and geochemistry of these unusual rocks from another world that excited us all. While being in the "back-room" at Johnson Space Center in December, 1972, during the Apollo 17 Mission, I was one of those who directly advised the astronauts on the Moon during their EVAs. I subsequently became good friends with Jack Schmitt, the only geologist to go to the Moon and the last person to step onto the Moon. He now often visits UT. These missions to the Moon were supposed to be but the beginning of human exploration of the Moon, but alas, having continuously studied lunar rocks and soils since the early times, with grateful aid from NASA, I consider myself a true "lunatic". More recently, my efforts have expanded into meteorites. The many new lunar and Martian meteorites being found in the Antarctic and equatorial hot deserts have provided renewed interest and excitement for these heavenly bodies.

Recent Publications

Basu Sarbadhikari, A., C.A. Goodrich, Y. Liu, J.M.D. Day, and L.A. Taylor.  2011, Evidence for heterogeneous enriched shergottite mantle sources in Mars from olivine-hosted melt inclusions in Larkman Nunatak 06319. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2011.09.001

Boardman, J., C.M. Pieters, R.O. Green, S.R. Lundeen, P. Varanasi, J. Nettles, N. Petro, P. Isaacson, S. Besse, and L.A. Taylor, 2011, Measuring Moonlight: An Overview of the Spatial Properties, Lunar Coverage, Selenolocation and Related Level 1B Products of the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (2011) , J. Geophys. Res.

Cheek, L.C., Pieters, C.M., Boardman, J.W., Clark, R.N., Combe, J.P., Head, J.W., Isaacson, P.J.,  McCord, T.B., Moriarty, D., Nettles, J.W., Petro, N.E., Sunshine, J.M., and Taylor, L.A., 2011.  Goldschmidt crater and the Moon’s north polar region: Results from the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), ), Jour. Geophy. Res., 116, E00G02, doi:10.1029/2010JE003702.

Dhinga, D., C.M. Pieters, J.W. Boardman, J.W. Head, P.J. Isaacson, and L.A. Taylor, 2011 Compositional diversity at Theophilis Crater: Understanding the geological context of Mg-spinel bearing central peaks.  J. of Geophys. Res. Lett. 38, L11201, doi:10.1029/2011GL047314.

Dhingra, D., L.A. Taylor + 6 co-authors, 2011, Spectroscopic Signatures of Basalts in Mare Tranquillitatis: Observations by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) onboard Chandrayaan – 1. J. Geophys. Res.

Green, R. O., L.A. Taylor, + 15 co-authors, 2011.  The Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) imaging spectrometer for lunar science: Instrument description, calibration, on-orbit measurements, science data calibration and on-orbit validation.  J. Geophys. Res., 116, E00G19, doi:10.1029/2011JE003797

Greenwood, J.P., Itoh, S., Sakamoto, N., Warren, P., Taylor, L.A., and Yurimoto, H., 2011.  Hydrogen isotope ratios in lunar rocks indicate delivery of cometary water to the Moon, Nature,  DOI: 10.1038/NGEO1050.

Isaacson, P. J., C. M. Pieters, S. Besse, R. N. Clark, J. W. Head, R. L. Klima, J. F. Mustard, N. E. Petro, M. I. Staid, J. M. Sunshine, L. A. Taylor, K. G. Thaisen, and S. Tompkins, 2011, Remote compositional analysis of lunar olivine-rich lithologies with Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) spectra, J. Geophys. Res., doi:10.1029/2010JE003731.

Issacson, P.J., Basu Sarbadhikari, A., Pieters, C.M., Klima, R.L., Hiroi, T., Liu, Y., and Taylor, L.A., 2011.  The lunar rock and mineral characterization consortium: Deconstruction and integrated analyses of mare basalts. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 46, 228-251.

Klima, R.L, Pieters, C.M., Boardman, J.W., Green, R.O., Head III, J.W., Isaacson, P.J.,  Mustard, J.F., Nettles J.W., Petro, N.E., Staid, M.I., Sunshine, J.M., Taylor, L.A., and Tompki, S., 2011.  New insights into lunar petrology: Distribution and composition of prominent low-Ca pyroxene exposures as observed by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), Jour. Geophy. Res., 116, E00G06, doi:10.1029/2010JE003719.

Kramer, G. Y., S. Besse, D. Dhingra, J. Nettles, R. Klima, I. Garrick- Bethell, R. N. Clark, J.-P. Combe, J. W. Head III, L. A. Taylor, C. M. Pieters, J. Boardman, and T. B. McCord (2011) M3 spectral analysis of lunar swirls and the link between optical maturation and surface hydroxyl formation at magnetic anomalies.  J. Geophys. Res., 116, E00G18, doi:10.1029/2010JE003729

Kramer, G., Taylor, L.A., + 7 co-authors, 2011, The Spectral Peculiarities of Lunar Swirls as Seen by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper,  Jour. Geophys. Res. 116, E00G02, doi:10.1029/ 2010JE003702.

Liu, Y and Taylor, L.A., 2011.  Water on the Moon. Acta Petrologica Sinica, , 27, 579-588 (invitied review).

Liu, Y. & Taylor, L.A. 2011, "Characterization of lunar dust and a synopsis of available lunar simulants", Planetary and Space Science, vol. 59, no. 14, pp. 1769-1783.

McCord, T.B., Taylor, L.A., Combe, J.P., Kramer, G., Pieters, C.M., Sunshine, J.P., and Clark, R.N., 2011.  Sources and physical processes responsible for OH/H2Oin the lunar soil as revealed by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), Jour. Geophy. Res., 116, E0G05, doi:10.1029/2010JE003711

Neetles, J.W., M. Staid, S. Besse, J. Boardman, R.N. Clark, D. Dhingra, P.J. Isaacson, R.. Klima, G. Kramer, C.M. Pieters, and L.A. Taylor, 2011, Optical maturity variation in lunar spectra as measured by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper.  J. Geophys. Res. 116, E00G17, doi:10.1029/2010JE003738.

Pieters, C. M., S. Besse, J. Boardman, B. Buratti, L. Cheek, R. N. Clark, J. P. Combe, D. Dhingra, J. N. Goswami, R. O. Green, J. W. Head, P. Isaacson, R. Klima, G. Kramer, S. Lundeen, E. Malaret, T. McCord, J. Mustard, J. Nettles, N. Petro, C. Runyon, M. Staid, J. Sunshine, L. A. Taylor, K. Thaisen, S. Tompkins, and J. Whitten, 2011, Mg-Spinel Lithology: A New Rock-type on the Lunar Farside, J. Geophys. Res., doi:10.1029/2010JE003727.

Riches, A.J.V., Liu, Y., Day, J.M.D., Puchtel, I.S., Rumble, D.,III, McSween, H.Y.,Jr, Walker, R.J. & Taylor, L.A. 2011, "Petrology and geochemistry of Yamato 984028; a cumulate lherzolitic shergottite with affinities to Y 00027, Y 00047, and Y 00097", Polar Science, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 497-514.

Smith, A.T., L.A. Taylor + 59 co-authors, 2011, Lunar Net – A proposal in response to an ESA M3 call in 2010 for a medium-sized missions.  Exper. Astron., in press.

Staid, M. I., C. M. Pieters, S. Besse, J. Boardman, D. Dhingra, R. O. Green, J. W. Head, P. J. Isaacson, R. L. Klima, G. Kramer, J. F. Mustard, C. J. Runyon, J. M. Sunshine, and L. A. Taylor, 2011, The Mineralogy of Late-Stage Lunar Volcanism as Observed by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper on Chandrayaan-1, J. Geophys. Res., doi:10.1029/2010JE003735.

Thaisen, K.G., Head, J.W., Taylor, L.A., Kramer, G.Y., Isaacson, P.J., Nettles, J., Petro, N.E., and Pieters, C.M., 2011.  Geology of the Moscoviense Basin, Jour. Geophy. Res., 116, E00G07, doi:10.1029/2010JE003732.

Van Rythoven, A.D., T.E. McCandless, D.J. Schulze, A. Bellis, Y. Liu, and L.A. Taylor, 2011, Diamond crystals and their mineral inclusions from the Lynx Kimberlite Dyke Complex, Central Ontario.  The Canadian Mineral. 49, 691-706.

Whitten, J., J. W. Head, M. Staid, C. M. Pieters, J. F. Mustard, R. N. Clark, J. Nettles, R. L. Klima, and L. A. Taylor, 2011, Lunar Mare Deposits Associated with the Orientale Impact Basin: New Insights into Mineralogy, History, Mode of Emplacement, and Relation to Orientale Basin Evolution from Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) Data from Chandrayaan-1, J. Geophys. Res., doi:10.1029/2010JE003736.

Zhang,  A., Taylor, L.A., Hsu, W., Floss, C., Li, X., Li, Q., and Liu Y., 2011.  Petrogenesis of lunar meteorite Northwest Africa 2977: Constraints from in situ microprobe results. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 45, 1929–1947.

Boyce, J.W., Liu, Y., Rossman, G.R., Guan, Y., Eiler, J.M., Stolper, E.M., and Taylor, L.A., 2010.  Lunar apatite with terrestrial volatile abundances. Nature, 466, 466-469.

Cole, D.M., Taylor, L.A., Liu, Y., and Hopkins, M.A., 2010, Grain-scale mechanical properties of lunar plagioclase and its simulant:  Initial experimental findings and modeling implications.  Earth & Space Sci. 2010: Engr., Sci., Constr., & Oper., ASCE, 76-83.

Cooper, B.L., McKay, D.S., Taylor, L.A., Kawamoto, H., Riofrio, L.M., and Gonzalez, C.P., 2010, Extracting respirable particles from lunar regolith for toxicology studies. Earth & Space Sci. 2010: Engr., Sci., Constr., & Oper., ASCE, 66-73.

Gaskin, J., Abbott, T., Medley, S., Patty, K., Gregory, D., Thaisen, K., Ramsey, B., Jerman, G., Sampson, A., Harvey, R., and Taylor, L.A., 2010, Miniturized scanning electron microprobe for in-situ planetary studies. Earth & Space Sci. 2010: Engr., Sci., Constr., & Oper., ASCE, 1246-1257.

Liu,Y., Spicuzza, M.J., Craddock, P.R., Day, J.M.D., Valley, J.W., Dauphas, D., and Taylor, L.A., 2010.  Coupled oxygen and iron isotope analyses of lunar mare basalts: Near-surface fractionation and source characteristics. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 74, 6249-6262.

Riches, A.J.V., Liu, Y., Day, J.M.D., Puchtel, I.S., Rumble, D., McSween, H., Walker, R.J.,  and Taylor, L.A., 2010.  Petrology and geochemistry of Yamato 984028: A highly-depleted cumulate lherzolitic shergottite. Polar Science, 4, doi: 10.1016 /j.polar .2010.04.009.

Riches, A.J.V., Liu, Y., Day, J.M.D., Spetsius, Z.V., and Taylor, L.A., 2010.  Subducted oceanic crust as diamond hosts in the siberian craton revealed by garnets of diamondiferous xenoliths from Nyurbinskaya. Lithos, doi:10.1016/j.lithos.2010.09.006 .

Taylor, L. A., C. M. Pieters, A. Patchen, D.-H. S. Taylor, R. V. Morris, L. P. Keller, and D. S. McKay, 2010, Mineralogical and Chemical Characterization of Lunar Highland Soils: Insights into the Space Weathering Of Soils on Airless Bodies. J. Geophys. Res., 115, E02002, 14 PP., doi:10.1029/2009JE003427

Taylor, L.A., and Liu, Y., 2010, Important considerations for lunar soil simulants. Earth & Space Sci. 2010: Engr., Sci., Constr., & Oper., ASCE, 106-118.

Thaisen, K.G., Gaskin, J.A., Ramsey, B.D., Jerman, G., Sampson, A.R., and Taylor, L.A., 2010, Development of a miniature scanning electron microscope to facilitate in-situ lunar science and engineering. Earth & Space Sci. 2010: Engr., Sci., Constr., & Oper., ASCE, 1046-1053.

Wong, N., Santarius, Taylor, L.A., Garrison, D.H., James, J.T., McKay, D.S., and Kuhlman, K.R., 2010, Decay of reactivity in forsterite due to UV radiation.  Earth & Space Sci. 2010: Engr., Sci., Constr., & Oper., ASCE, 29-35

Zhang, A., Guan, Y., Hsu, W., Liu, Y., and Taylor, L.A., 2010.  Origin of a recrystallized lithic clast in CM chondrite Grove Mountain 021536. Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 45, 238-245.

Basu Sarbadhikari, A., Day, J.M.D., Liu, Y., Rumble III, D., and Taylor, L.A., 2009. Petrogenesis of olivine-phyric shergottite Larkman Nunatak 06319: Implications for enriched components in martian basalts, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2009.01.012.

Day, J.M.D., Ash, R.D., Liu, Y., Bellucci, J.J., Rumble III, D., McDonough, W.F., Walker, R.J., and Taylor, L.A., 2009. Early formation of evolved asteroidal crust. Nature 457, doi: 10.1038/nature07651

Hill, E., Taylor, L.A., Floss, C., & Liu, Y., 2009. Lunar meteorite LaPaz Icefield 04841: Petrology, texture, and impack-chock effects of a low-Ti mare basalt, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 44, 87-94.

Liu , Y., Floss, C., Day, J.M.D., Hill, E., and Taylor, L.A., 2009.  Petrogenesis of lunar mare basalt meteorite Miller Range 05035. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 44, 87-94.

Liu, Y., Taylor, L.A., Sarbadhikari, A.,B., Valley, J.W., Ushikubo, T., Ketchum, R., Carlson, W., Stepanov., A., Shatsky, V., and Sobolev, N.V., 2009, Metasomatic origin of diamonds in the world’s largest diamondiferous eclogite. Lithos, Proc. 9th Int’l. Kimberlite Conf., Frankfurt, Ger., in press (available on line)

Miller, J., Taylor, L.A., Zeitlin, C., Heilbronn, L., Guetersloh, S., DiGiuseppe, M., Iwata, Y., and Murakami, T., 2009, Lunar soil as shielding against space radiation. Radiation Measurement, 1-5.

Pieters C.M., Taylor, L.A. & 18 other coauthors, 2009. The Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) on Chandrayaan-1, Current Science 96, 500-505.

Pieters C.M., Taylor, L.A. & 27 other coauthors, 2009,  Character and Spatial Distribution of OH/H2O on the Surface of the Moon seen by M3 on Chandrayaan-1.  Science 96, 500-505.

Taylor, L.A., and Liu, Y., 2009, Sulfide inclusions in diamonds: not monosulfide solid solution.  Eur. J. Mineral. 21, in press (November issue).

Thaisen, K.G. and Taylor, L.A., 2009.  Meteorite fusion crust variability, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 44, 871-878.

Wallace, W.T., Taylor, L.A., Liu, Y., Cooper, B.L., McKay, D.S., Chen, B., and Jeevarajan, A.S., 2009, Lunar dust and lunar simulant activation and monitoring. Meteoritics & Planetary  Science 44, 961-970.

Liu, Y. Park, J., Schnare, D.W., Hill, E., and Taylor, L.A., 2008. Characterization of lunar dust for toxicological studies. II. Morphology and physical characteristics. Journal of Aerospace Engineering, 21(4), 272-279.

Liu, Y., Schnare, D.W., Eimer, B.C., and Taylor, L.A., 2008.  Dry separation of respirable lunar dust: Providing samples for the lunar airborne dust toxicity advisory group. Planetary and Space Science 56, 1517–1523

Logvinova, A.M., Wirth, R., Sobolev, N.V., Seryotkin, Y.V., Yefimova, E.S., Floss, C., and Taylor, L.A., 2008, Eskaloite associated with diamond from the Undachnaya kimberlite pipe, Yakutia, Russia.  Amer. Mineral. 93, 685-690

Park, J., Liu, Y., Kihm, K.D., and Taylor, L.A., 2008.  Characterization of lunar dust for toxicological studies. I. Particle size distribution. Journal of Aerospace Engineering, 21(4), 266-271.

Schnare, D.W., Day, J.M.D., Norman, M.D., Liu, Y., and Taylor, L.A., 2008. A laser-ablation ICP-MS study of Apollo 15 low-titanium olivine-normative and quartz-normative mare basalts. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 72, 2556-2572

Spetsius, Z.V., and Taylor, L.A., 2008, Diamonds of Siberia:  Petrographic Evidence for Their Origin.  Tranquility Base Publ., Lenoir City, TN, 278 pp.

Terada, K., Sasaki, Y., Anand, M., Sano, Y., and Taylor, L.A., 2008 Uranium-lead systematics of low-Ti basaltic meteorite Dhofar 287A: Affinity to Apollo 15 green glasses.  Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 270, 119-124.

Contact Information

Lawrence A. Taylor
Professor
Petrology and Geochemistry

Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
1412 Circle Drive
Knoxville, TN 37996-1410

Phone: (865) 974-6013
Email: lataylor@utk.edu