Classification of igneous rocks analyzed by ChemCam at Gale crater, Mars

Cousin, A.; Sautter, V.; Payré, V.; Forni, O.; Mangold, N.; Gasnault, O.; Deit, L. Le; Johnson, J. R.; Maurice, S.; Salvatore, M. R.; Wiens, R. C.; Gasda, P. J.; Rapin, W.

doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2017.01.014

Cited by 114 publications

(157 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…They do not match Adirondack‐class basalts in composition, nor are they obvious magmatic progenitors or derivatives from similar basalts. The clasts are also distinct in major element composition from the primitive Group 1 basalts from Gale Crater (Cousin et al, ). There is some evidence that the clasts were derived from altered materials.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Diverse Lithologies and Alteration Events on the Rim of Noachian‐Aged Endeavour Crater, Meridiani Planum, Mars: In Situ Compositional Evidence

et al. 2018

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We report the results of geological studies by the Opportunity Mars rover on the Endeavour Crater rim. Four major units occur in the region (oldest to youngest): the Matijevic, Shoemaker, Grasberg, and Burns formations. The Matijevic formation, consisting of fine‐grained clastic sediments, is the only pre‐Endeavour‐impact unit and might be part of the Noachian etched units of Meridiani Planum. The Shoemaker formation is a heterogeneous polymict impact breccia; its lowermost member incorporates material eroded from the underlying Matijevic formation. The Shoemaker formation is a close analog to the Bunte Breccia of the Ries Crater, although the average clast sizes are substantially larger in the latter. The Grasberg formation is a thin, fine‐grained, homogeneous sediment unconformably overlying the Shoemaker formation and likely formed as an airfall deposit of unknown areal extent. The Burns formation sandstone overlies the Grasberg, but compositions of the two units are distinct; there is no evidence that the Grasberg formation is a fine‐grained subfacies of the Burns formation. The rocks along the Endeavour Crater rim were affected by at least four episodes of alteration in the Noachian and Early Hesperian: (i) vein formation and alteration of preimpact Matijevic formation rocks, (ii) low‐water/rock alteration along the disconformity between the Matijevic and Shoemaker formations, (iii) alteration of the Shoemaker formation along fracture zones, and (iv) differential mobilization of Fe and Mn, and CaSO4‐vein formation in the Grasberg and Shoemaker formations. Episodes (ii) and (iii) possibly occurred together, but (i) and (iv) are distinct from either of these.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Diverse Lithologies and Alteration Events on the Rim of Noachian‐Aged Endeavour Crater, Meridiani Planum, Mars: In Situ Compositional Evidence

et al. 2018

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“…It is unknown if borate evaporite minerals were present on the Archean Earth [ Grew et al , ], but the borate evaporites in Gale are much older than the oldest inferred age of evaporites on Earth [ Grew et al , ]. Additionally, there is evidence for ancient, evolved igneous rocks from the Southern Highlands in the Gale lake watershed [e.g., Cousin et al , ], which are required precursor rocks for boron enrichment [ Grew et al , ]. Hence, the presence of boron enrichments in Gale suggests that boron‐concentrating processes can occur early in a terrestrial planet's history.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In situ detection of boron by ChemCam on Mars

Gasda

Haldeman

Wiens

et al. 2017

Geophysical Research Letters

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We report the first in situ detection of boron on Mars. Boron has been detected in Gale crater at levels <0.05 wt % B by the NASA Curiosity rover ChemCam instrument in calcium‐sulfate‐filled fractures, which formed in a late‐stage groundwater circulating mainly in phyllosilicate‐rich bedrock interpreted as lacustrine in origin. We consider two main groundwater‐driven hypotheses to explain the presence of boron in the veins: leaching of borates out of bedrock or the redistribution of borate by dissolution of borate‐bearing evaporite deposits. Our results suggest that an evaporation mechanism is most likely, implying that Gale groundwaters were mildly alkaline. On Earth, boron may be a necessary component for the origin of life; on Mars, its presence suggests that subsurface groundwater conditions could have supported prebiotic chemical reactions if organics were also present and provides additional support for the past habitability of Gale crater.

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“…Several studies have demonstrated that such primitive atmosphere could be obtained by volatiles degassing from the interior of the planet through volcanism . Indeed, Mars went through an intense volcanic activity during the Noachian (>3.7 Ga), resulting in large provinces of igneous basaltic rocks covering the surface . Among the igneous rocks, sedimentary bedrocks have also been observed from both orbital and lander spatial missions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Particular H₂O dissolution mechanism in iron‐rich melt: Application to martian basaltic melt genesis

Larre

Morizet

Bézos

et al. 2019

J Raman Spectroscopy

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Martian basalts are different from Earth by their iron‐rich abundance with 18 wt% FeOtot in average for Mars upper crust. The H2O dissolution mechanism in this atypical melt composition is not well understood. We have synthesized H2O‐bearing martian basaltic glass analogs (10 < FeOtot < 16 wt%) under high pressures (0.5–1.5 GPa) and temperatures (>1500°C) conditions. We used Raman and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopies to investigate the effect of H2O as well as the high FeOtot content on the molecular structure of Fe‐rich glasses. Increasing Fe content appears to inhibit the dissolution of H2O in the melt. In fact, it appears that Free OH groups are formed at relatively low H2O content in Fe‐rich melts (1 wt%), whereas they only appeared at high H2O content (~6.5 wt%) for Fe‐poor glasses. We suggest that the Free OH are bonded to Fe2+ cations in the melt forming isolating clusters of Fe (OH)2. Such configurations are suspected to induce an increase in the melt polymerization. The presence of free hydroxyls dissolved in the melt is likely to have a major impact on the genesis of aqueous fluid phase at the surface of Mars.

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Classification of igneous rocks analyzed by ChemCam at Gale crater, Mars

Cited by 114 publications

References 61 publications

Diverse Lithologies and Alteration Events on the Rim of Noachian‐Aged Endeavour Crater, Meridiani Planum, Mars: In Situ Compositional Evidence

Diverse Lithologies and Alteration Events on the Rim of Noachian‐Aged Endeavour Crater, Meridiani Planum, Mars: In Situ Compositional Evidence

In situ detection of boron by ChemCam on Mars

Particular H₂O dissolution mechanism in iron‐rich melt: Application to martian basaltic melt genesis

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Classification of igneous rocks analyzed by ChemCam at Gale crater, Mars

Cited by 114 publications

References 61 publications

Diverse Lithologies and Alteration Events on the Rim of Noachian‐Aged Endeavour Crater, Meridiani Planum, Mars: In Situ Compositional Evidence

Diverse Lithologies and Alteration Events on the Rim of Noachian‐Aged Endeavour Crater, Meridiani Planum, Mars: In Situ Compositional Evidence

In situ detection of boron by ChemCam on Mars

Particular H2O dissolution mechanism in iron‐rich melt: Application to martian basaltic melt genesis

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Product

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Particular H₂O dissolution mechanism in iron‐rich melt: Application to martian basaltic melt genesis