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Costello LJ, Filiberto J, Crandall JR, Potter-McIntyre SL, Schwenzer SP, Miller MA, Hummer DR, Olsson-Francis K, Perl S. Habitability of Hydrothermal Systems at Jezero and Gusev Craters as Constrained by Hydrothermal Alteration of a Terrestrial Mafic Dike. CHEMIE DER ERDE : BEITRAGE ZUR CHEMISCHEN MINERALOGIE, PETROGRAPHIE UND GEOLOGIE 2020; 80:125613. [PMID: 33299255 PMCID: PMC7720477 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemer.2020.125613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
NASA's search for habitable environments has focused on alteration mineralogy of the Martian crust and the formation of hydrous minerals, because they reveal information about the fluid and environmental conditions from which they precipitated. Extensive work has focused on the formation of alteration minerals at low temperatures, with limited work investigating metamorphic or high-temperature alteration. We have investigated such a site as an analog for Mars: a mafic dike on the Colorado Plateau that was hydrothermally altered from contact with groundwater as it was emplaced in the porous and permeable Jurassic Entrada sandstone. Our results show evidence for fluid mobility removing Si and K but adding S, Fe, Ca, and possibly Mg to the system as alteration progresses. Mineralogically, all samples contain calcite, hematite, and kaolinite; with most samples containing minor anatase, barite, halite, and dolomite. The number of alteration minerals increase with alteration. The hydrothermal system that formed during interaction of the magma (heat source) and groundwater would have been a habitable environment once the system cooled below ~120° C. The mineral assemblage is similar to alteration minerals seen within the Martian crust from orbit, including those at Gusev and Jezero Craters. Therefore, based on our findings, and extrapolating them to the Martian crust, these sites may represent habitable environments which would call for further exploration and sample return of such hydrothermally altered igneous materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lacey J. Costello
- Southern Illinois University, Department of Geology, 1259 Lincoln Drive, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA
| | - Justin Filiberto
- Lunar and Planetary Institute, USRA, 3600 Bay Area Blvd., Houston, TX 77058, USA
| | - Jake R. Crandall
- Eastern Illinois University, Department of Geology and Geography, Physical Science Building, 600 Lincoln Ave., Charleston, IL 61920, USA
| | - Sally L. Potter-McIntyre
- Southern Illinois University, Department of Geology, 1259 Lincoln Drive, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA
| | - Susanne P. Schwenzer
- School of Environment, Earth, and Ecosystems Sciences, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK
| | - Michael A. Miller
- Materials Engineering Department, Southwest Research Institute, 6220 Culebra Road, San Antonio, TX 78238, USA
| | - Daniel R. Hummer
- Southern Illinois University, Department of Geology, 1259 Lincoln Drive, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA
| | - Karen Olsson-Francis
- School of Environment, Earth, and Ecosystems Sciences, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK
| | - Scott Perl
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Dr, Pasadena, CA 91109-8001, USA
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