Elemental composition of manganese- and phosphorus-rich nodules in the Knockfarril Hill member, Gale crater, Mars

VanBommel, S. J.; Berger, J. A.; Gellert, R.; O’Connell‐Cooper, C. D.; McCraig, M. A.; Thompson, L. M.; Fedo, C. M.; Marais, David J. Des; Fey, D.; Yen, A. S.; Clark, B.; Treiman, Allan H.; Boyd, Nicholas

doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2022.115372

Cited by 9 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…In the Groken area, winds were strong and rapidly moved sand and dust at the surface (see Drill below), and the MAHLI team permitted closeup images (e.g., 5 cm standoff) only with the cover closed. Those images, as shown in Figure 8 in [40], are not used here.…”

Section: Mahlimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The dark nodules are generally compact with straight edges and distinct angular corners, The Groken drill site is at the southernmost edge of the Mozie_Law slab, where the stratigraphically highest layers of the slab are exposed (Figure 3A). Layers rich in dark nodules are interspersed with those containing few or no nodules, Figure 3B [8,40]. During drilling at Groken, the Mozie_Law slab broke along some of the layers (Figure 3C).…”

Section: Local Geologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The chemical composition of the Groken nodules was derived from the quantitative comparison of APXS analyses of adjacent areas (Ayton 1, 2, and 3) that contained varying proportions of nodules, i.e., a raster deconvolution [43]. The results of that raster deconvolution [40] are given in Table 3. * "Offset" refers to placement of the analysis area-these are adjacent to the nominal analysis of that name.…”

Section: Apxsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Manganese-Iron Phosphate Nodules at the Groken Site, Gale Crater, Mars

Treiman,

Lanza,

VanBommel

et al. 2023

Minerals

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The MSL Curiosity rover investigated dark, Mn-P-enriched nodules in shallow lacustrine/fluvial sediments at the Groken site in Glen Torridon, Gale Crater, Mars. Applying all relevant information from the rover, the nodules are interpreted as pseudomorphs after original crystals of vivianite, (Fe2+,Mn2+)3(PO4)2·8H2O, that cemented the sediment soon after deposition. The nodules appear to have flat faces and linear boundaries and stand above the surrounding siltstone. ChemCam LIBS (laser-induced breakdown spectrometry) shows that the nodules have MnO abundances approximately twenty times those of the surrounding siltstone matrix, contain little CaO, and have SiO2 and Al2O3 abundances similar to those of the siltstone. A deconvolution of APXS analyses of nodule-bearing targets, interpreted here as representing the nodules’ non-silicate components, shows high concentrations of MnO, P2O5, and FeO and a molar ratio P/Mn = 2. Visible to near-infrared reflectance of the nodules (by ChemCam passive and Mastcam multispectral) is dark and relatively flat, consistent with a mixture of host siltstone, hematite, and a dark spectrally bland material (like pyrolusite, MnO2). A drill sample at the site is shown to contain minimal nodule material, implying that analyses by the CheMin and SAM instruments do not constrain the nodules’ mineralogy or composition. The fact that the nodules contain P and Mn in a small molar integer ratio, P/Mn = 2, suggests that the nodules contained a stoichiometric Mn-phosphate mineral, in which Fe did (i.e., could) not substitute for Mn. The most likely such minerals are laueite and strunzite, Mn2+Fe3+2(PO4)2(OH)2·8H2O and –6H2O, respectively, which occur on Earth as alteration products of other Mn-bearing phosphates including vivianite. Vivianite is a common primary and diagenetic precipitate from low-oxygen, P-enriched waters. Calculated phase equilibria show Mn-bearing vivianite could be replaced by laueite or strunzite and then by hematite plus pyrolusite as the system became more oxidizing and acidic. These data suggest that the nodules originated as vivianite, forming as euhedral crystals in the sediment, enclosing sediment grains as they grew. After formation, the nodules were oxidized—first to laueite/strunzite yielding the diagnostic P/Mn ratio, and then to hematite plus an undefined Mn oxy-hydroxide (like pyrolusite). The limited occurrence of these Mn-Fe-P nodules, both in space and time (i.e., stratigraphic position), suggests a local control on their origin. By terrestrial analogies, it is possible that the nodules precipitated near a spring or seep of Mn-rich water, generated during alteration of olivine in the underlying sediments.

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Section: Mahlimentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Local Geologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Apxsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Manganese-Iron Phosphate Nodules at the Groken Site, Gale Crater, Mars

Treiman,

Lanza,

VanBommel

et al. 2023

Minerals

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“…The highest concentrations plotted are in the Wishstone rocks of Gusev crater and the Mt. Sharp group rocks of Gale crater, although the Groken nodules have higher concentrations at 18%, which do not fill the APXS's field of view [44,45], and the lowest are from the Jezero fan and crater floor samples, but in general, the samples are confined within one order of magnitude of the martian crust (0.83 wt.%) [171] (Figure 4). Observations across multiple missions also support the observation that dust is enriched in phosphate relative to soil [40,134,138,157,[179][180][181].…”

Section: Global Observations From Mars Missionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Sojourner rover on Mars Pathfinder provided the first detections of phosphorus on Mars [36,37]. The subsequent MER rovers Spirit and Opportunity detected phosphorus in widely varying abundances in Gusev crater and Meridiani Planum, respectively [38][39][40] Instruments on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover Curiosity have provided both phosphorus abundances and X-ray diffraction detections of phosphate minerals in Gale crater [41][42][43][44][45]. With the landing of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover in Jezero crater, microscale chemical, textural, and inferred mineralogical data are available for the first time for phosphate minerals on Mars.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phosphates on Mars and Their Importance as Igneous, Aqueous, and Astrobiological Indicators

Hausrath,

Adcock,

Berger

et al. 2024

Minerals

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This paper reviews the phosphate phases in meteorites and those measured by landed spacecraft, what they reveal about past igneous and aqueous conditions on Mars, and important implications for potential prebiotic chemistry, past habitability, and potential biosignatures that could be detected in samples returned from Mars. A review of the 378 martian meteorites as of 2023 indicate that of the two most common phosphate minerals in Mars meteorites, merrillite and apatites, the apatite composition is largely F- and Cl-rich, with shergottites containing more OH. The phosphate concentrations examined across multiple missions show a relatively narrow range of phosphate, with higher concentrations observed in the Mount Sharp Group in Gale crater and Wishstone at Gusev crater and lower concentrations observed at Jezero crater floor and Jezero fan. Possible secondary phosphates detected on Mars, including Fe phosphates at Jezero crater and Gusev crater and Ca- and Al-bearing secondary phosphates, temperatures of formation of secondary phases and their dissolution rates and solubilities are reviewed and summarized. Despite this wealth of information about phosphates on Mars, due to their fine scale and relatively low concentrations, Mars Sample Return is needed to better understand phosphate and its implications for the igneous, aqueous, and astrobiological history of Mars.

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