A steamy proposal for Martian clays

Schaefer, Laura

doi:10.1038/d41586-017-07661-3

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…The dense steam or supercritical atmosphere reacted with the Martian primary crust to form primordial clay minerals . Primordial clay minerals formed in the end stages of the formation of Mars may have been preserved because Mars did not experience mature, subduction-driven plate tectonics to recycle the altered early crust or clay minerals. , Subsequently, these clay mineral distributions and characteristics were altered by intensive impact bombardment, by the emplacement of extrusive volcanic material, or by physical and chemical weathering to form younger Noachian-aged units.…”

Section: Genesis Of Martian Clay Mineralsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enigmatic Issues and Widening Implications of Research on Martian Clay Minerals

Zhong

Fiore

Chen

et al. 2022

ACS Earth Space Chem.

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Clay minerals are widespread in the Martian crust. Over the last few decades, accumulating data and research into the type, crystallinity, quantity, and distribution of Martian clay minerals (MCMs) has remarkably advanced the understanding of Martian geology, paleoclimate, environment, and the question of whether water, organic matter, and life exist there. Meanwhile, some issues remain enigmatic and arguable. To date, mineralogical data from orbiters and rovers have provided information regarding the distribution, composition, age, and geological evolution of MCMs. Several models for interpreting the formation of MCMs, including weathering, hydrothermal alteration, magmatic precipitation, and diagenesis, have been proposed. Nevertheless, the exact formation mechanism of MCM, remains unclear, primarily because of the lack of sufficient information on the chemical reactions and element cycles involved in the formation of clay minerals. Examination on the type, crystallinity, quantity, and distribution of MCMs indicates that Mars possibly had a warm and wet climate during the Noachian period. Since clay minerals possess abundant −OH groups in the layered structure and can host H 2 O in the interlayer space, MCMs are thought to be potentially large water reservoirs. Studies of MCMs and their interaction with organic matter are possibly conducive to finding answers to the question of whether or not on Mars life exists as clay minerals can preserve and enrich organic matter, catalyze the formation of biotic molecules, such as RNA oligomers, ribose, and amino acids, and even contribute to the assembly of vesicles. Future missions to Mars are recommended to set studies on MCMs with the key issues above and are expecting to lead to more exciting findings.

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Section: Genesis Of Martian Clay Mineralsmentioning

confidence: 99%