1. Overview of the Morphology and Chemistry of Diagenetic Features in the Clay-Rich Glen Torridon Unit of Gale Crater, Mars
- Author
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Patrick J. Gasda, Jade Comellas, Ari Essunfeld, Debarati Das, Alexander B. Bryk, Erwin Dehouck, Susanne P. Schwenzer, Laura Crossey, Kenneth Herkenhoff, Jeffrey R. Johnson, Horton Newsom, Nina L. Lanza, William Rapin, Walter Goetz, Pierre‐Yves Meslin, John C. Bridges, Ryan Anderson, Gael David, Stuart M. R. Turner, Michael T. Thorpe, Linda Kah, Jens Frydenvang, Rachel Kronyak, Gwénaël Caravaca, Ann Ollila, Stéphane Le Mouélic, Matthew Nellessen, Megan Hoffman, Deirdra Fey, Anges Cousin, Roger C. Wiens, Samuel M. Clegg, Sylvestre Maurice, Olivier Gasnault, Dorothea Delapp, Adriana Reyes‐Newell, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), McGill University = Université McGill [Montréal, Canada], University of California [Berkeley] (UC Berkeley), University of California (UC), The Open University [Milton Keynes] (OU), The University of New Mexico [Albuquerque], US Geological Survey [Flagstaff], United States Geological Survey [Reston] (USGS), Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory [Laurel, MD] (APL), Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie (IRAP), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung = Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS), Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, University of Leicester, Texas State University, NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC), NASA, The University of Tennessee [Knoxville], Globe Institute, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (UCPH)-University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (UCPH), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géosciences [UMR_C 6112] (LPG), Université d'Angers (UA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Nantes université - UFR des Sciences et des Techniques (Nantes univ - UFR ST), Nantes Université - pôle Sciences et technologie, Nantes Université (Nantes Univ)-Nantes Université (Nantes Univ)-Nantes Université - pôle Sciences et technologie, Nantes Université (Nantes Univ)-Nantes Université (Nantes Univ), Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS), Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géosciences - Angers (LPG-ANGERS), and Nantes Université (Nantes Univ)-Nantes Université (Nantes Univ)-Université d'Angers (UA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Nantes université - UFR des Sciences et des Techniques (Nantes univ - UFR ST)
- Subjects
[SDU.STU.PL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Planetology ,Geophysics ,ChemCam ,Space and Planetary Science ,Geochemistry and Petrology ,Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous) ,Mars Science Laboratory ,Glen Torridon ,Gale crater ,diagenesis ,Gale Crater ,Diagenesis - Abstract
International audience; The clay-rich Glen Torridon region of Gale crater, Mars, was explored between sols 2300 and 3007. Here, we analyzed the diagenetic features observed by Curiosity, including veins, cements, nodules, and nodular bedrock, using the ChemCam, Mastcam, and Mars Hand Lens Imager instruments. We discovered many diagenetic features in Glen Torridon, including dark-toned iron- and manganese-rich veins, magnesium- and fluorine-rich linear features, Ca-sulfate cemented bedrock, manganese-rich nodules, and iron-rich strata. We have characterized the chemistry and morphology of these features, which are most widespread in the higher stratigraphic members in Glen Torridon, and exhibit a wide range of chemistries. These discoveries are strong evidence for multiple generations of fluids from multiple chemical endmembers that likely underwent redox reactions to form some of these features. In a few cases, we may be able to use mineralogy and chemistry to constrain formation conditions of the diagenetic features. For example, the dark-toned veins likely formed in warmer, highly alkaline, and highly reducing conditions, while manganese-rich nodules likely formed in oxidizing and circumneutral conditions. We also hypothesize that an initial enrichment of soluble elements, including fluorine, occurred during hydrothermal alteration early in Gale crater history to account for elemental enrichment in nodules and veins. The presence of redox-active elements, including Fe and Mn, and elements required for life, including P and S, in these fluids is strong evidence for habitability of Gale crater groundwater. Hydrothermal alteration also has interesting implications for prebiotic chemistry during the earliest stages of the crater’s evolution and early Mars.
- Published
- 2022
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