Remote sensing and in situ mineralogic survey of the Chilean salars: An analog to Mars evaporate deposits?

Flahaut, J.; Martinot, M.; Bishop, J. L.; Davies, Gareth R.; Potts, N. J.

doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2016.09.041

Cited by 32 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 85 publications

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“…as those that are found in the salars of the Atacama Desert and may have formed via comparable processes (Sutter et al, 2007;Flahaut et al, 2017). The western section of the Atacama Desert lies over a sedimentary bedrock, the Andean section to the East, which encompasses our sampling area, and it is made of a variety of basaltic to dacitic volcanic rocks that may be similar to rocks of the martian crust (Flahaut et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Common salts/evaporites found in the Atacama Desert include halite, gypsum, anhydrite, borates, sodium sulfates, and perchlorate salts (Stoertz and Ericksen, 1974;Ericksen, 1981;Böhlke et al, 1997;Flahaut et al, 2017). The Atacama Desert has an average temperature of 11-16°C with strong fluctuations during day or night, and with elevation (Stoertz and Ericksen, 1974;McKay et al, 2003;Clarke, 2006;Gómez-Silva et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A recent study by Flahaut et al (2017) has focused in great detail on the mineralogy and geological settings of several salars in the Atacama Desert by using space-born, field (visible and near infrared [VNIR] spectroscopy), and laboratory-based analysis. During fieldwork, samples for biological analysis were collected and analyzed in the study presented here.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The other three salars investigated in this study are situated in the volcanic Andean highlands, at higher elevations (4000 m) and with slightly wetter and cooler conditions. For more details on the geological setting and mineralogical content of these salars, we refer the reader to the work of Flahaut et al (2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biosignature Analysis of Mars Soil Analogs from the Atacama Desert: Challenges and Implications for Future Missions to Mars

Aerts¹,

Riedo

Melton

et al. 2020

Astrobiology

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The detection of biosignatures on Mars is of outstanding interest in the current field of Astrobiology and drives various fields of research, ranging from new sample collection strategies to the development of more sensitive detection techniques. Detailed analysis of the organic content in Mars analog materials collected from extreme environments on Earth improves the current understanding of biosignature preservation and detection under conditions similar to those of Mars. In this article, we examined the biological fingerprint of several locations in the Atacama Desert (Chile), which include different wet and dry, and intermediate to high elevation salt flats (also named salars). Liquid Chromatography and Multidimensional Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry measurement techniques were used for the detection and analysis of amino acids extracted from the salt crusts and sediments by using sophisticated extraction procedures. Illumina 16S amplicon sequencing was used for the identification of microbial communities associated with the different sample locations. Although amino acid load and organic carbon and nitrogen quantities were generally low, it was found that most of the samples harbored complex and versatile microbial communities, which were dominated by (extremely) halophilic microorganisms (most notably by species of the Archaeal family Halobacteriaceae). The dominance of salts (i.e., halites and sulfates) in the investigated samples leaves its mark on the composition of the microbial communities but does not appear to hinder the potential of life to flourish since it can clearly adapt to the higher concentrations. Although the Atacama Desert is one of the driest and harshest environments on Earth, it is shown that there are still sub-locations where life is able to maintain a foothold, and, as such, salt flats could be considered as interesting targets for future life exploration missions on Mars.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biosignature Analysis of Mars Soil Analogs from the Atacama Desert: Challenges and Implications for Future Missions to Mars

Aerts¹,

Riedo

Melton

et al. 2020

Astrobiology

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“…Whereas hyperspectral remote sensing allows for improved discrimination of the crust mineralogy, which is recommended for complex evaporite mineral assemblages [36], it currently lacks the temporal resolution needed for the analyses and monitoring of the highly dynamic processes of salt pan environments. Some studies demonstrated that it is possible to derive a number of useful mineralogical crust types (e.g., gypsum, carbonate, quartz, and halite) for the classification of playa surface, even with broadband multispectral data, e.g., from Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) [37,38] or Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) sensor [39]. Nevertheless, a direct mineralogical characterization is not possible.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analyses of Namibian Seasonal Salt Pan Crust Dynamics and Climatic Drivers Using Landsat 8 Time-Series and Ground Data

2020

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Salt pans are highly dynamic environments that are difficult to study by in situ methods because of their harsh climatic conditions and large spatial areas. Remote sensing can help to elucidate their environmental dynamics and provide important constraints regarding their sedimentological, mineralogical, and hydrological evolution. This study utilizes spaceborne multitemporal multispectral optical data combined with spectral endmembers to document spatial distribution of surface crust types over time on the Omongwa pan located in the Namibian Kalahari. For this purpose, 49 surface samples were collected for spectral and mineralogical characterization during three field campaigns (2014–2016) reflecting different seasons and surface conditions of the salt pan. An approach was developed to allow the spatiotemporal analysis of the salt pan crust dynamics in a dense time-series consisting of 77 Landsat 8 cloud-free scenes between 2014 and 2017, covering at least three major wet–dry cycles. The established spectral analysis technique Sequential Maximum Angle Convex Cone (SMACC) extraction method was used to derive image endmembers from the Landsat time-series stack. Evaluation of the extracted endmember set revealed that the multispectral data allowed the differentiation of four endmembers associated with mineralogical mixtures of the crust’s composition in dry conditions and three endmembers associated with flooded or muddy pan conditions. The dry crust endmember spectra have been identified in relation to visible, near infrared, and short-wave infrared (VNIR–SWIR) spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses of the collected surface samples. According these results, the spectral endmembers are interpreted as efflorescent halite crust, mixed halite–gypsum crust, mixed calcite quartz sepiolite crust, and gypsum crust. For each Landsat scene the spatial distribution of these crust types was mapped with the Spectral Angle Mapper (SAM) method and significant spatiotemporal dynamics of the major surface crust types were observed. Further, the surface crust dynamics were analyzed in comparison with the pan’s moisture regime and other climatic parameters. The results show that the crust dynamics are mainly driven by flooding events in the wet season, but are also influenced by temperature and aeolian activity in the dry season. The approach utilized in this study combines the advantages of multitemporal satellite data for temporal event characterization with advantages from hyperspectral methods for the image and ground data analyses that allow improved mineralogical differentiation and characterization.

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Mapping mineralogy in evaporite basins through time using multispectral Landsat data: Examples from the Bonneville basin, Utah, USA

Radwin

Bowen

2021

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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The Bonneville basin, located in north-western Utah, is a vast evaporite basin which is home to the world-renowned Bonneville Salt Flats international speedway and is a highly valued landscape undergoing rapid change and anthropogenic influence.Air quality, snowpack, the local hydrological system, and state tourism are all impacted by the nature of the surface sediments exposed in the Bonneville basin. Mapping the Bonneville basin over time with remote sensing methods provides insight into the dynamics and impacts of the changing surface landscape. Utilizing the Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper (TM) and Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) sensors, a set of band math indices are empirically established to map the predominant halite, gypsum, and carbonates mineralogical zones of the Bonneville basin. Spectral comparisons of representative samples from the study area and imagederived spectra indicate the halite of the Bonneville basin is wet and that gypsum deposits are slightly mixed with halite. The established indices are assessed in four ways, all of which support the ability of the indices to accentuate the associated mineralogical endmembers. Two study areas within the Bonneville basin are investigated temporally from 1986, 1995, 2005, and 2016 and show changing patterns in mineral distribution that align with surface processes active through these timescales. These indices provide a resource for mapping mineralogy though time in evaporite basins globally with diverse applications for questions about land use and environmental change.

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Remote sensing and in situ mineralogic survey of the Chilean salars: An analog to Mars evaporate deposits?

Cited by 32 publications

References 85 publications

Biosignature Analysis of Mars Soil Analogs from the Atacama Desert: Challenges and Implications for Future Missions to Mars

Biosignature Analysis of Mars Soil Analogs from the Atacama Desert: Challenges and Implications for Future Missions to Mars

Analyses of Namibian Seasonal Salt Pan Crust Dynamics and Climatic Drivers Using Landsat 8 Time-Series and Ground Data

Mapping mineralogy in evaporite basins through time using multispectral Landsat data: Examples from the Bonneville basin, Utah, USA

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