Panama ́ Viejo, founded in 1519 by the Spanish explorer Pedrarias Da ́vila, was the first permanent European settlement on the Pacific Ocean, and became a city, by royal decree, in 1521. Shortly after its creation, the city became an important base for trade with Spain. In 1671, the English pirate Henry Morgan waged an attack on Panama ́ Viejo, which resulted in a fire that destroyed the entire city. A new settlement built a few miles west, called Casco Antiguo or San Felipe, is now the historic district of modern Panama City. The Pb isotopic compositions of the glazes on the surface of sixteenth to seventeenth century majolica pottery sherds from Panama Viejo and Casco Antiguo (both in Panama), and Lima (Peru) were determined via non-destructive laser ablation multi-collector ICP-MS (LA-MC-ICP-MS). The contrast in Pb isotopic compositions in the glazes on ceramics recovered in different locations demonstrate that early majolica pottery production during this period used Pb obtained from the Andes. However, the Pb used in later majolica production in Panama is of Spanish origin. After Panama ́ Viejo was burned to the ground, Panamanian majolica production ended.

Martian meteorite NWA 7533 is a regolith breccia that compositionally resembles the Martian surface measured by orbiters and landers. NWA 7533 contains monzonitic clasts that have zircon with U–Pb ages of 4.428 Ga. The Pb isotopic compositions of plagioclase and alkali feldspars, as well as U–Pb isotopic compositions of chlorapatitein the monzonitic clasts of NWA 7533 have been measured by Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS). The U–Pb isotopic compositions measured from the chlorapatitein NWA 7533 yield an age of 1.357 ±81Ga(2σ). The least radiogenic Pb isotopic compositions measured in plagioclase and K-feldspar lie within error of the 4.428 Ga Geochron. These data indicate that the monzonitic clasts in NWA 7533 are a product of a differentiation history that includes residence in areservoir that formed prior to 4.428 Ga with a μ-value (238U/204Pb) of at least 13.4 ±1.7 (2σ)and aκ-value (232Th/238U) of ∼4.3. This μ-value is more than three times higher than any other documented Martian reservoir. These results indicate either the Martian mantle is significantly more heterogeneous than previously thought (μ-value of 1–14 vs. 1–5) and/or the monzonitic clasts formed by the melting of Martian crust with a μ-value of at least 13.4. Therefore, NWA 7533 may contain the first isotopic evidence for an enriched, differentiated crust on Mars.

The full U-Pb isotopic systematics in a complex lunar zircon ‘Pomegranate’ from lunar impact breccia 73235 have been investigated by the development of a novel Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) scanning ion imaging (SII) technique. This technique offers at least a four-fold increase in analytical spatial resolution over traditional SIMS analyses in zircon. Results from this study confirm the hypothesis that the Pomegranate zircon crystallized at 4.302 ± 0.013 Ga and experienced an impact that formed, U-enriched zircon around primary zircon cores at 4.184 ± 0.007 Ga (2σ, all uncertainties). The increase in spatial resolution offered by this technique has facilitated targeting of primary zircon that was previously inaccessible to conventional spot analyses. This approach has yielded results indicating that individual grains with a diffusive distance of less than ~4 μm have been reset to the young impact age, while individual grains with a diffusive distance larger than ~6 μm have retained the old crystallization age. Assuming a broad range in cooling rate of 0.5–50 °C/year, which has been observed in a suite of similar lunar breccias, a maximum localized temperature generated by the impact that reset small prima- ry zircon and created new, high-U zircon is estimated to be between 1100 and 1280 °C.

Northwest Africa 7533, a polymict Martian breccia, consists of fine-grained clast- laden melt particles and microcrystalline matrix. While both melt and matrix contain medium-grained noritic-monzonitic material and crystal clasts, the matrix also contains lithic clasts with zoned pigeonite and augite plus two feldspars, microbasaltic clasts, vitrophyric and microcrystalline spherules, and shards. The clast-laden melt rocks contain clump-like aggregates of orthopyroxene surrounded by aureoles of plagioclase. Some shards of vesicular melt rocks resemble the pyroxene-plagioclase clump-aureole structures. Submicron size matrix grains show some triple junctions, but most are irregular with high intergranular porosity. The noritic-monzonitic rocks contain exsolved pyroxenes and perthitic intergrowths, and cooled more slowly than rocks with zoned-pyroxene or fine grain size. Noritic material contains orthopyroxene or inverted pigeonite, augite, calcic to intermediate plagioclase, and chromite to Cr-bearing magnetite; monzonitic clasts contain augite, sodic plagioclase, K feldspar, Ti-bearing magnetite, ilmenite, chlorapatite, and zircon. These feldspathic rocks show similarities to some rocks at Gale Crater like Black Trout, Mara, and Jake M. The most magnesian orthopyroxene clasts are close to ALH 84001 orthopyroxene in composition. All these materials are enriched in siderophile elements, indicating impact melting and incorporation of a projectile component, except for Ni-poor pyroxene clasts which are from pristine rocks. Clast-laden melt rocks, spherules, shards, and siderophile element contents indicate formation of NWA 7533 as a regolith breccia. The zircons, mainly derived from monzonitic (melt) rocks, crystallized at 4.43 ` 0.03 Ga (Humayun et al. 2013) and a 147Sm-143Nd isochron for NWA 7034 yielding 4.42 ` 0.07 Ga (Nyquist et al. 2016) defines the crystallization age of all its igneous portions. The zircon from the monzonitic rocks has a higher D17O than other Martian meteorites explained in part by assimilation of regolith materials enriched during surface alteration (Nemchin et al. 2014). This record of protolith interaction with atmosphere- hydrosphere during regolith formation before melting demonstrates a thin atmosphere, a wet early surface environment on Mars, and an evolved crust likely to have contaminated younger extrusive rocks. The latest events recorded when the breccia was on Mars are resetting of apatite, much feldspar and some zircons at 1.35–1.4 Ga (Bellucci et al. 2015), and formation of Ni-bearing pyrite veins during or shortly after this disturbance (Lorand et al. 2015).

Despite more than 40 years of studying Apollo samples, the age and early evolution of the Moon remain contentious. Following the formation of the Moon in the aftermath of a giant impact, the resulting Lunar Magma Ocean (LMO) is predicted to have generated major geochemically distinct silicate reservoirs, including the sources of lunar basalts. Samples of these basalts, therefore, provide a unique opportunity to characterize these reservoirs. However, the precise timing and extent of geochemical fractionation is poorly constrained, not least due to the difficulty in determining accurate ages and initial Pb isotopic compositions of lunar basalts. Application of an in situion microprobe approach to Pb isotope analysis has allowed us to obtain precise crystallization ages from six lunar basalts, typically with an uncertainty of about ±10Ma, as well as constrain their initial Pb-isotopic compositions. This has enabled construction of a two-stage model for the Pb-isotopic evolution of lunar silicate reservoirs, which necessitates the prolonged existence of high-μreservoirs in order to explain the very radiogenic compositions of the samples. Further, once firm constraints on U and Pb partitioning behaviour are established, this model has the potential to help distinguish between conflicting estimates for the age of the Moon. Nonetheless, we are able to constrain the timing of a lunar mantle reservoir differentiation event at 4376 ±18Ma, which is consistent with that derived from the Sm–Nd and Lu–Hf isotopic systems, and is interpreted as an average estimate of the time at which the high-μurKREEP reservoir was established and the Ferroan Anorthosite (FAN) suite was formed.

The U-Pb systems of apatite and merrillite grains within four separate Apollo 14 impact melt breccia samples were analysed by secondary ion mass spectrometry. No systematic difference was identified between the ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages of the apatites and merrillites. A combined ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb age of 3927±2 Ma (95% conf.) is determined for three of these samples (14305,103: 3926±4 Ma; 14306,150: 3926±6 Ma; 14314,13: 3929±4 Ma). By combining these data with the ages previously obtained for zircons in Apollo 12 impact melt breccia fragments and the lunar meteorite SaU 169, a weighted average age of 3926±2 Ma (95% conf.) is obtained, which is attributed to the formation of the Imbrium basin. An age of 3943±5 Ma is determined for the fourth breccia (14321,134), which is similar to ages of 3946±15 Ma and 3958±19 Ma, obtained from several older phosphates in 14305,103 and 14314,13. The weighted average of these three older ages is 3944±4 Ma (95% conf.). This is indistinguishable to the age (3938±4 Ma; 2σ) obtained for a different Apollo 14 impact melt breccia in a previous study. After investigating likely sources for this older ~3940 Ma age, we conclude that the Humorum or Serenitatis basin forming events are likely candidates. The potential identification of two large impact events within ~15 Myrs has important implications for the rate of lunar bombardment around 3.95-3.92 Ga. This study demonstrates the importance of high-precision age determinations for interpreting the impact record of the Moon, as documented in lunar samples.