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Diagenesis in the Murray Formation, Gale Crater, Mars

Authors :
Rampe, E. B
Ming, D. W
Morris, R. V
Blake, D. F
Bristow, T. F
Chipera. S. J
Vaniman, D. T
Yen, A. S
Grotzinger, J. P
Downs, R. T
Des Marais, D. J
Publication Year :
2016
Publisher :
United States: NASA Center for Aerospace Information (CASI), 2016.

Abstract

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover began investigating the rocks of Mt. Sharp in September 2014. The Murray formation is the lowermost unit, which is mostly comprised of finely laminated mudstones, suggesting these sediments were deposited in a lacustrine environment. It is important to characterize the geochemical and mineralogical trends throughout the Murray Fm to interpret the aqueous conditions of the ancient lake, the sources of the lake sediments, and post-depositional alteration processes. Four samples have been drilled from the Murray Fm so far: Confidence Hills, Mojave 2, and Telegraph Peak were collected from the Pahrump Hills member - the basal portion of the Murray Fm, and Buckskin was collected in the Marias Pass region (Fig. 1). The drill fines were delivered to the instruments inside the rover, including the CheMin instrument, a combination X-ray diffractometer and X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. Rietveld refinements and FULLPAT analyses of 1D CheMin XRD patterns were performed to determine quantitative abundances of minerals and amor-phous phases and the unit cell parameters of minerals present in abundances greater than 4-5 wt.%.

Details

Language :
English
Database :
NASA Technical Reports
Publication Type :
Report
Accession number :
edsnas.20160002650
Document Type :
Report