Detection of copiapite in the northern Mawrth Vallis region of Mars: Evidence of acid sulfate alteration

Farrand, W. H.; Glotch, T. D.; Horgan, B.

doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2014.07.003

Cited by 20 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…In particular, no products of hydrothermal alteration have been detected, such as might have been produced in an impact‐induced hydrothermal system [ Schwenzer et al , ; Schwenzer and Kring , ]. Nor has CheMin detected (at the percent mass level) soluble salts such as sulfates, halides, and perchlorates [ Chipera and Vaniman , ; Farrand et al , ; Forni et al , ; Johnson et al , ]. CheMin's nondetection of carbonate minerals is consistent with the results of SAM evolved gas analysis.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mineralogy, provenance, and diagenesis of a potassic basaltic sandstone on Mars: CheMin X‐ray diffraction of the Windjana sample (Kimberley area, Gale Crater)

et al. 2016

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The Windjana drill sample, a sandstone of the Dillinger member (Kimberley formation, Gale Crater, Mars), was analyzed by CheMin X‐ray diffraction (XRD) in the MSL Curiosity rover. From Rietveld refinements of its XRD pattern, Windjana contains the following: sanidine (21% weight, ~Or95); augite (20%); magnetite (12%); pigeonite; olivine; plagioclase; amorphous and smectitic material (~25%); and percent levels of others including ilmenite, fluorapatite, and bassanite. From mass balance on the Alpha Proton X‐ray Spectrometer (APXS) chemical analysis, the amorphous material is Fe rich with nearly no other cations—like ferrihydrite. The Windjana sample shows little alteration and was likely cemented by its magnetite and ferrihydrite. From ChemCam Laser‐Induced Breakdown Spectrometer (LIBS) chemical analyses, Windjana is representative of the Dillinger and Mount Remarkable members of the Kimberley formation. LIBS data suggest that the Kimberley sediments include at least three chemical components. The most K‐rich targets have 5.6% K2O, ~1.8 times that of Windjana, implying a sediment component with >40% sanidine, e.g., a trachyte. A second component is rich in mafic minerals, with little feldspar (like a shergottite). A third component is richer in plagioclase and in Na2O, and is likely to be basaltic. The K‐rich sediment component is consistent with APXS and ChemCam observations of K‐rich rocks elsewhere in Gale Crater. The source of this sediment component was likely volcanic. The presence of sediment from many igneous sources, in concert with Curiosity's identifications of other igneous materials (e.g., mugearite), implies that the northern rim of Gale Crater exposes a diverse igneous complex, at least as diverse as that found in similar‐age terranes on Earth.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mineralogy, provenance, and diagenesis of a potassic basaltic sandstone on Mars: CheMin X‐ray diffraction of the Windjana sample (Kimberley area, Gale Crater)

et al. 2016

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“…The implications of these rocks toward the nature of the early martian climate is complicated by the uncertain origins of the rocks themselves and of the included phyllosilicates. These layered clay-rich rocks have been variously interpreted as weathering products of crustal rocks or sediments under surface conditions (Noe Farrand et al, 2014;, as detrital phyllosilicate sediments deposited in a large martian sedimentary basin (Wray et al, 2008), or alteration products formed through widespread hydrothermal and/or diagenetic processes (Ehlmann et al, 2011;Noe Dobrea et al, 2010;Sun and Milliken, 2015). They have also been attributed to precipitation from magmatic fluids moving upwards during the last-stage degassing of the martian interior (Meunier et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deposition of >3.7 Ga clay-rich strata of the Mawrth Vallis Group, Mars, in lacustrine, alluvial, and aeolian environments

et al. 2019

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The presence of abundant phyllosilicate minerals in Noachian (>3.7 Ga) rocks on Mars has been taken as evidence that liquid water was stable at or near the surface early in martian history. This study investigates some of these clay-rich strata exposed in crater rim and inverted terrain settings in the Mawrth Vallis region of Mars. In Muara crater the 200-m-thick, clay-rich Mawrth Vallis Group (MVG) is subdivided into five informal units numbered 1 (base) to 5 (top). Unit 1 consists of interbedded sedimentary and volcanic or volcaniclastic units showing weak Fe/Mg-smectite alteration deposited in a range of subaerial depositional settings. Above a major unconformity eroded on Unit 1, the dark-toned sediments of Unit 2 and lower Unit 3 are inferred to represent mainly wind-blown sand. These are widely interlayered with and draped by thin layers of light-toned sediment representing fine suspended-load aeolian silt and clay. These sediments show extensive Fe/Mg-smectite alteration, probably reflecting subaerial weathering. Upper Unit 3 and units 4 and 5 are composed of well-layered, fine-grained sediment dominated by Al-phyllosilicates, kaolinite, and hydrated silica. Deposition occurred in a large lake or arm of a martian sea. In the inverted terrain 100 km to the NE, Unit 4 shows very young slope failures suggesting that the clay-rich sediments today retain a significant component of water ice. The MVG provides evidence for the presence of large, persistent standing bodies of water on early Mars as well as a complex association of flanking shoreline, alluvial, and aeolian systems. Some of the clays, especially the Fe/Mg smectites in upper units 1 and 2 appear to have formed through subaerial weathering whereas the aluminosilicates, kaolinite, and hydrated silica of units 3, 4, and 5 formed mainly through alteration of fine sediment in subaqueous environments.

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“…Smaller clay‐rich outcrops are also found in a larger region around Mawrth Vallis (~1000 km × 1000 km) [ Noe Dobrea et al , ]. Fe smectites, Al smectites, and micas [ Poulet et al , ; Loizeau et al , ; Poulet et al , ], kaolinite, hydrated silica [ Bishop et al , ; McKeown et al , : Poulet et al , ], and sulfates [ Farrand et al , ; Wray et al , ; Farrand et al , ] have been detected within this layered unit through analyses of OMEGA (the Observatoire pour la Minéralogie, l'Eau, les Glaces et l'Activité on board Mars Express [ Bibring et al , ]) and CRISM (the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars on board Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO [ Murchie et al , ]) spectral imagery. Most of the outcrops show a constant compositional stratigraphy with the Al clay minerals/hydrated silica on top of the Fe clay minerals, the clay‐sequence being covered by an anhydrous dark cap unit [ Wray et al , ; Bishop et al , ; Loizeau et al , ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

History of the clay-rich unit at Mawrth Vallis, Mars: High-resolution mapping of a candidate landing site

Loizeau

Mangold

Poulet

et al. 2015

J. Geophys. Res. Planets

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The Mawrth Vallis region is covered by some of the largest phyllosilicate‐rich outcrops on Mars, making it a unique window into the past history of Mars in terms of water alteration, potential habitability, and the search for past life. A landing ellipse had been proposed for the Curiosity rover. This area has been extensively observed by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment and the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars, offering the possibility to produce geologic, structural, and topographic maps at very high resolution. These observations provide an unprecedented detailed context of the rocks at Mawrth Vallis, in terms of deposition, alteration, erosion, and mechanical constraints. Our analyses demonstrate the presence of a variety of alteration environments on the surface and readily accessible to a rover, the presence of flowing water at the surface postdating the formation of the clay‐rich units, and evidence for probable circulation of fluids in the rocks at different depths. These rocks undergo continuous erosion, creating fresh outcrops where potential biomarkers may have been preserved. The diversity of aqueous environments over geological time coupled to excellent preservation properties make the area a very strong candidate for future robotic investigation on Mars, like the NASA Mars 2020 mission.

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Detection of copiapite in the northern Mawrth Vallis region of Mars: Evidence of acid sulfate alteration

Cited by 20 publications

References 42 publications

Mineralogy, provenance, and diagenesis of a potassic basaltic sandstone on Mars: CheMin X‐ray diffraction of the Windjana sample (Kimberley area, Gale Crater)

Mineralogy, provenance, and diagenesis of a potassic basaltic sandstone on Mars: CheMin X‐ray diffraction of the Windjana sample (Kimberley area, Gale Crater)

Deposition of >3.7 Ga clay-rich strata of the Mawrth Vallis Group, Mars, in lacustrine, alluvial, and aeolian environments

History of the clay-rich unit at Mawrth Vallis, Mars: High-resolution mapping of a candidate landing site

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Detection of copiapite in the northern Mawrth Vallis region of Mars: Evidence of acid sulfate alteration

Cited by 20 publications

References 42 publications

Mineralogy, provenance, and diagenesis of a potassic basaltic sandstone on Mars: CheMin X‐ray diffraction of the Windjana sample (Kimberley area, Gale Crater)

Mineralogy, provenance, and diagenesis of a potassic basaltic sandstone on Mars: CheMin X‐ray diffraction of the Windjana sample (Kimberley area, Gale Crater)

Deposition of &gt;3.7 Ga clay-rich strata of the Mawrth Vallis Group, Mars, in lacustrine, alluvial, and aeolian environments

History of the clay-rich unit at Mawrth Vallis, Mars: High-resolution mapping of a candidate landing site

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Deposition of >3.7 Ga clay-rich strata of the Mawrth Vallis Group, Mars, in lacustrine, alluvial, and aeolian environments