Evidence for Hesperian impact-induced hydrothermalism on Mars

Marzo, G. A.; Dávila, Alfonso F.; Tornabene, L. L.; Dohm, J. M.; Fairén, Alberto González; Gross, C.; Kneissl, T.; Bishop, J. L.; Roush, T. L.; McKay, C. P.

doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2010.03.013

Cited by 130 publications

(111 citation statements)

References 85 publications

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“…Evidence for hydrothermal processes was first recognized from the local proximity between phyllosilicate detections and volcanic and/or impact landforms (Poulet et al 2008;Mangold et al 2007;Ehlmann et al 2008;Murchie et al 2009;Marzo et al 2010;Michalski et al 2013;Viviano-Beck 2015). Clay exposures can be interpreted as formed by hydrothermal activity when they are characterized by a variety of minerals, including some formed only at relatively high-T (non-ambient, >50 • C), such as chlorite, prehnite, or serpentine (Ehlmann et al 2011;Loizeau et al 2012a;Viviano et al 2013;Bultel et al 2015).…”

Section: Hydrous Minerals and Alterationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is difficult to distinguish hydrous minerals related to excavation of buried clays and observed both in ejecta or central peaks (e.g., Mangold et al 2007;Loizeau et al 2012b) from minerals formed in situ by an impact-generated hydrothermal system (e.g., Schwenzer and Kring 2009). Nevertheless, several craters display complex mineralogical assemblages typical of impact-related hydrothermal activities (e.g., Toro crater, Marzo et al 2010), as illustrated by impact-related hydrothermal systems in basalts on Earth (Yokoyama et al 2015). Clay exposures exhumed from impact craters are ubiquitous suggesting that they are the result of the interaction of heated groundwater with rocks at depth (Ehlmann et al 2011.…”

Section: Hydrous Minerals and Alterationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mars: a small terrestrial planet

Mangold

Baratoux

Witasse

et al. 2016

Astron Astrophys Rev

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Mars is characterized by geological landforms familiar to terrestrial geologists. It has a tenuous atmosphere that evolved differently from that of Earth and Venus and a differentiated inner structure. Our knowledge of the structure and evolution of Mars has strongly improved thanks to a huge amount of data of various types (visible and infrared imagery, altimetry, radar, chemistry, etc) acquired by a dozen of missions over the last two decades. In situ data have provided ground truth for remote-sensing data and have opened a new era in the study of Mars geology. While large sections of Mars science have made progress and new topics have emerged, a major question in Mars exploration-the possibility of past or present life-is still unsolved. Without entering into the debate around the presence of life traces, our review develops various topics of Mars science to help the search of life on Mars, building on the most recent discoveries, going from the exosphere to the interior structure, from the magmatic evolution to the currently active processes, including the fate of volatiles and especially liquid water.

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Section: Hydrous Minerals and Alterationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Hydrous Minerals and Alterationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mars: a small terrestrial planet

Mangold

Baratoux

Witasse

et al. 2016

Astron Astrophys Rev

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“…The central peak complex (both peak and central pit) is approximately 8 km in diameter with its highest peaks rising more than 300 m above the crater floor. Abundant and diverse phyllosilicate signatures have been observed through analysis of CRISM images in the greater Nili Fossae region (17), including Toro crater (18). Here we focus on the identification of distinct hydrated silicate deposits inside Toro using CRISM NIR hyperspectral images (see Materials and Methods).…”

Section: Toro Crater: a Case Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Here we focus on the identification of distinct hydrated silicate deposits inside Toro using CRISM NIR hyperspectral images (see Materials and Methods). Toro exhibits a distinct occurrence of material consistent with extensive hydrated and hydroxylated silicate deposits (17,18), which includes smec- Table 1. Maximum temperature increases in the transient crater as a result of asteroid (density = 3,000 kg∕m 3 ) impacts on Mars…”

Section: Toro Crater: a Case Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Noachian and more recent phyllosilicates in impact craters on Mars

Fairén

Chevrier²,

Abramov

et al. 2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Hundreds of impact craters on Mars contain diverse phyllosilicates, interpreted as excavation products of preexisting subsurface deposits following impact and crater formation. This has been used to argue that the conditions conducive to phyllosilicate synthesis, which require the presence of abundant and long-lasting liquid water, were only met early in the history of the planet, during the Noachian period (>3.6 Gy ago), and that aqueous environments were widespread then. Here we test this hypothesis by examining the excavation process of hydrated minerals by impact events on Mars and analyzing the stability of phyllosilicates against the impact-induced thermal shock. To do so, we first compare the infrared spectra of thermally altered phyllosilicates with those of hydrated minerals known to occur in craters on Mars and then analyze the postshock temperatures reached during impact crater excavation. Our results show that phyllosilicates can resist the postshock temperatures almost everywhere in the crater, except under particular conditions in a central area in and near the point of impact. We conclude that most phyllosilicates detected inside impact craters on Mars are consistent with excavated preexisting sediments, supporting the hypothesis of a primeval and long-lasting global aqueous environment. When our analyses are applied to specific impact craters on Mars, we are able to identify both pre-and postimpact phyllosilicates, therefore extending the time of local phyllosilicate synthesis to post-Noachian times.hydrothermal activity | impact cratering | Martian clays V isible-infrared spectrometers orbiting Mars have identified multiple classes of hydrous minerals related to past aqueous activity (1-3). Phyllosilicates are particularly abundant and continue to be identified by OMEGA (Observatoire pour la Minér-alogie, L'Eau, les Glaces et l'Activité, onboard Mars Express) (1) and CRISM (Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars, onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter) (2). Phyllosilicates are indicative of the interaction of liquid water with rocks on or near the surface and have been identified in outcrops and scarps, such as depressions (3) and valleys (1), and in association with hundreds of impact craters in the southern highlands (2). These relationships have been interpreted to indicate that phyllosilicates are very old, early Noachian deposits (1, 3) formed in a time when the global environment on Mars was characterized by the presence of significant amounts of surface liquid water at very cold temperatures (4, 5). These phyllosilicate deposits were later buried by more recent materials and then exposed locally by impacts, faulting, or erosion.We test this hypothesis here by analyzing the thermodynamically irreversible effects of the impact process, with an emphasis on the postshock heating and the extent of dehydration, dehydroxylation, and decomposition of preexisting hydrated minerals in the preimpact target. Our objective is to determine whether the occurrences and spatial distribution...

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“…Outcrops of fractured bedrock are observed in other areas. Since Gasa crater sits within an older impact crater, impact melt and impact breccia is expected to be the dominant bedrock lithology (e.g., Grant et al, 2008;Marzo et al, 2010). The smooth-lying materials are likely composed of poorly-indurated impact breccia, colluvium or eolian sediments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%