Detection of Carbonates in Martian Weathering Profiles

Bultel, B.; Viennet, Jean‐Christophe; Poulet, F.; Carter, John; Werner, Stéphanie C.

doi:10.1029/2018je005845

Cited by 46 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…However, Mars does presently have a CO 2 atmosphere, although with an overall pressure amounting to only 12 mbar [ 206 ]. Carbonates too are sparse so whether it once had a higher CO 2 pressure, as supposed by climate modelling, is also debatable [ 207 , 208 , 209 ]. More serious is the likelihood that a bridgmanite zone never existed and the Noachian atmosphere would have been H 2 and H 2 O, both being highly soluble in ringwoodite [ 210 , 211 , 212 ] ( Figure 3 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Six ‘Must-Have’ Minerals for Life’s Emergence: Olivine, Pyrrhotite, Bridgmanite, Serpentine, Fougerite and Mackinawite

Russell

Ponce

2020

Life

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Life cannot emerge on a planet or moon without the appropriate electrochemical disequilibria and the minerals that mediate energy-dissipative processes. Here, it is argued that four minerals, olivine ([Mg>Fe]2SiO4), bridgmanite ([Mg,Fe]SiO3), serpentine ([Mg,Fe,]2-3Si2O5[OH)]4), and pyrrhotite (Fe(1−x)S), are an essential requirement in planetary bodies to produce such disequilibria and, thereby, life. Yet only two minerals, fougerite ([Fe2+6xFe3+6(x−1)O12H2(7−3x)]2+·[(CO2−)·3H2O]2−) and mackinawite (Fe[Ni]S), are vital—comprising precipitate membranes—as initial “free energy” conductors and converters of such disequilibria, i.e., as the initiators of a CO2-reducing metabolism. The fact that wet and rocky bodies in the solar system much smaller than Earth or Venus do not reach the internal pressure (≥23 GPa) requirements in their mantles sufficient for producing bridgmanite and, therefore, are too reduced to stabilize and emit CO2—the staple of life—may explain the apparent absence or negligible concentrations of that gas on these bodies, and thereby serves as a constraint in the search for extraterrestrial life. The astrobiological challenge then is to search for worlds that (i) are large enough to generate internal pressures such as to produce bridgmanite or (ii) boast electron acceptors, including imported CO2, from extraterrestrial sources in their hydrospheres.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Six ‘Must-Have’ Minerals for Life’s Emergence: Olivine, Pyrrhotite, Bridgmanite, Serpentine, Fougerite and Mackinawite

Russell

Ponce

2020

Life

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“…They stated, "A test of this theory will be provided by future spectroscopic searches for carbonates in Mars' crust." Recent studies Edwards & Ehlmann, 2015) have placed some limits on the amount of carbonate exposed on the surface of Mars as detected by current orbital instruments, and small amounts of carbonates have been found in the Comanche rock at Gusev crater (Carter & Poulet, 2012;Morris et al, 2010) and recently studied in weathering profiles around Mars (Bultel et al, 2019); however, the hypothesized abundant carbonate-bearing deposits remain elusive.…”

Section: Martian Carbonate Depositsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pollack et al also suggested that to extend the lifetime of the thick atmosphere, the carbonate rocks may have been recycled back into the atmosphere either through burial and thermal decomposition or direct decomposition through contact with hot lava. They stated, “A test of this theory will be provided by future spectroscopic searches for carbonates in Mars' crust.” Recent studies (Bandfield et al, ; Edwards & Ehlmann, ) have placed some limits on the amount of carbonate exposed on the surface of Mars as detected by current orbital instruments, and small amounts of carbonates have been found in the Comanche rock at Gusev crater (Carter & Poulet, ; Morris et al, ) and recently studied in weathering profiles around Mars (Bultel et al, ); however, the hypothesized abundant carbonate‐bearing deposits remain elusive.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Olivine‐Carbonate Mineralogy of the Jezero Crater Region

Brown¹,

2020

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A well‐preserved, ancient delta deposit, in combination with ample exposures of carbonate outcrops, makes Jezero Crater in Nili Fossae a compelling astrobiological site. We use Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) observations to characterize the surface mineralogy of the crater and surrounding watershed. Previous studies have documented the occurrence of olivine and carbonates in the Nili Fossae region. We focus on correlations between these two well‐studied lithologies in the Jezero crater watershed. We map the position and shape of the olivine 1 μm absorption band and find that carbonates are found in association with olivine which displays a 1 μm band shifted to long wavelengths. We then use Thermal Emission Imaging Spectrometer (THEMIS) coverage of Nili Fossae and perform tests to investigate whether the long wavelength shifted (redshifted) olivine signature is correlated with high thermal inertia outcrops. We find that there is no consistent correlation between thermal inertia and the unique olivine signature. We discuss a range of formation scenarios for the olivine and carbonate associations, including the possibility that these lithologies are products of serpentinization reactions on early Mars. These lithologies provide an opportunity for deepening our understanding of early Mars and, given their antiquity, may provide a framework to study the timing of valley networks and the thermal history of the Martian crust and interior from the early Noachian to today.

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“…This makes the presence of serpentine or chlorite highly unlikely, as they form in high-temperature settings (e.g., Khalepp and Burd, 1985;Inoue et al, 2010). Hence, the 2.5 mm feature observed in association with Fe/Mg clay minerals is most likely caused by the presence of the remaining mineral candidates: carbonate (consistently with Bultel et al, 2019) or another type of smectite.…”

Section: Implications For the Formation Scenariosmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphological and Spectral Diversity of the Clay-Bearing Unit at the ExoMars Landing Site Oxia Planum

et al. 2021

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The European Space Agency and Roscosmos' ExoMars rover mission, which is planned to land in the Oxia Planum region, will be dedicated to exobiology studies at the surface and subsurface of Mars. Oxia Planum is a clay-bearing site that has preserved evidence of long-term interaction with water during the Noachian era. Fe/ Mg-rich phyllosilicates have previously been shown to occur extensively throughout the landing area. Here, we analyze data from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) and from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) instruments onboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS) onboard ESA's Trace Gas Orbiter to characterize, at a high spatial resolution, the morphological and spectral variability of Oxia Planum's surface deposits. Two main types of bedrocks are identified within the clay-bearing, fractured unit observed throughout the landing site: (1) an orange type in HiRISE correlated with the strongest detections of secondary minerals (dominated by Fe/Mg-rich clay minerals) with, in some locations, an additional spectral absorption near 2.5 mm, suggesting the mixture with an additional mineral, plausibly carbonate or another type of clay mineral; (2) a more bluish bedrock associated with weaker detections of secondary minerals, which exhibits at certain locations a *1 mm broad absorption feature consistent with olivine. Coanalysis of the same terrains with the recently acquired CaSSIS images confirms the variability in the color and spectral properties of the fractured unit. Of interest for the ExoMars mission, both types of bedrocks are extensively outcropping in the Oxia Planum region, and the one corresponding to the most intense spectral signals of clay minerals (the primary scientific target) is well exposed within the landing area, including near its center.

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Detection of Carbonates in Martian Weathering Profiles

Cited by 46 publications

References 71 publications

Six ‘Must-Have’ Minerals for Life’s Emergence: Olivine, Pyrrhotite, Bridgmanite, Serpentine, Fougerite and Mackinawite

Six ‘Must-Have’ Minerals for Life’s Emergence: Olivine, Pyrrhotite, Bridgmanite, Serpentine, Fougerite and Mackinawite

Olivine‐Carbonate Mineralogy of the Jezero Crater Region

Morphological and Spectral Diversity of the Clay-Bearing Unit at the ExoMars Landing Site Oxia Planum

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