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Liu J, Michalski JR, Gao W, Schröder C, Li YL. Freeze-thaw cycles drove chemical weathering and enriched sulfates in the Burns formation at Meridiani, Mars. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadi1805. [PMID: 38232168 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi1805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
Sulfate-rich sedimentary rocks explored by the Opportunity rover during its 14-year surface mission at Meridiani Planum provide an invaluable window into the thousands of sulfate deposits detected on Mars via remote sensing. Existing models explaining the formation of martian sulfates can be generally described as either bottom-up, groundwater-driven playa settings or top-down icy chemical weathering environments. Here, we propose a hybrid model involving both bottom-up and top-down processes driven by freeze-thaw cycles. Freezing leads to cryo-concentration of acidic fluids from precipitations at the surface, facilitating rapid chemical weathering despite low temperatures. Cryosuction causes the upward migration of vadose water and even groundwater with dissolved ions, resulting in the accumulation of ions in near-surface environments. Evaporation precipitates salts, but leaching separates chlorides from sulfates during the thawing period. Freeze-thaw cycles, therefore, can enrich sulfates at the surface. While freeze-thaw is more commonly understood as a mechanism of physical weathering, we suggest that it is a fundamental aspect of chemical weathering on Mars.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiacheng Liu
- Department of Earth Sciences, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
- Laboratory for Space Research, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Joseph R Michalski
- Department of Earth Sciences, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
- Laboratory for Space Research, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Wenyuan Gao
- Department of Geology, Northeastern University, Shenyang, China
| | - Christian Schröder
- Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA, UK
| | - Yi-Liang Li
- Department of Earth Sciences, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
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Finkel PL, Carrizo D, Parro V, Sánchez-García L. An Overview of Lipid Biomarkers in Terrestrial Extreme Environments with Relevance for Mars Exploration. ASTROBIOLOGY 2023; 23:563-604. [PMID: 36880883 PMCID: PMC10150655 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2022.0083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2022] [Accepted: 01/25/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Lipid molecules are organic compounds, insoluble in water, and based on carbon-carbon chains that form an integral part of biological cell membranes. As such, lipids are ubiquitous in life on Earth, which is why they are considered useful biomarkers for life detection in terrestrial environments. These molecules display effective membrane-forming properties even under geochemically hostile conditions that challenge most of microbial life, which grants lipids a universal biomarker character suitable for life detection beyond Earth, where a putative biological membrane would also be required. What discriminates lipids from nucleic acids or proteins is their capacity to retain diagnostic information about their biological source in their recalcitrant hydrocarbon skeletons for thousands of millions of years, which is indispensable in the field of astrobiology given the time span that the geological ages of planetary bodies encompass. This work gathers studies that have employed lipid biomarker approaches for paleoenvironmental surveys and life detection purposes in terrestrial environments with extreme conditions: hydrothermal, hyperarid, hypersaline, and highly acidic, among others; all of which are analogous to current or past conditions on Mars. Although some of the compounds discussed in this review may be abiotically synthesized, we focus on those with a biological origin, namely lipid biomarkers. Therefore, along with appropriate complementary techniques such as bulk and compound-specific stable carbon isotope analysis, this work recapitulates and reevaluates the potential of lipid biomarkers as an additional, powerful tool to interrogate whether there is life on Mars, or if there ever was.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo L. Finkel
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Physics and Mathematics and Department of Automatics, University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Victor Parro
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, Madrid, Spain
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Understanding redox processes during iron precipitation in standing water: implications in formation of iron oxides minerals in the terrestrial planetary environment (especially Mars). PROCEEDINGS OF THE INDIAN NATIONAL SCIENCE ACADEMY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s43538-022-00092-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
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Searching Mass-Balance Analysis to Find the Composition of Martian Blueberries. MINERALS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/min12060777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Between 2004 and 2018, NASA’s rover Opportunity found huge numbers of small, hematite-rich spherules (commonly called blueberries) on the Meridiani Planum of Mars. The standard oxide composition distributions of blueberries have remained poorly constrained, with previous published analyses leaving hematite content somewhere in the broad range of 24–100 wt%. A searching mass-balance analysis is introduced and applied to constrain possible standard oxide composition distributions of blueberries consistent with the non-detection of silicates in blueberries by Opportunity’s instruments. This analysis found three groups of complete solution sets among the mass-balance ions consistent with the non-detection of silicates; although, a simple extension of the analysis indicates that one larger space of solutions incorporates all three groups of solutions. Enforcing consistency with the non-detection of silicates in blueberries constrains the hematite content in most of blueberry samples to between 79.5 and 99.85 wt%. A feature of the largest group of complete solution sets is that five oxides/elements, MgO, P2O5, Na2O, SO3, and Cl, collectively have a summed weight percentage that averages close to 6 wt%, while the weight percentage of nickel is close to 0.3 wt% in all solutions. Searches over multidimensional spaces of filtering composition distributions of basaltic and dusty soils were a methodological advance.
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Rolling Ironstones from Earth and Mars: Terrestrial Hydrothermal Ooids as a Potential Analogue of Martian Spherules. MINERALS 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/min11050460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
High-resolution images of Mars from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) rovers revealed mm-size loose haematite spherulitic deposits (nicknamed “blueberries”) similar to terrestrial iron-ooids, for which both abiotic and biotic genetic hypotheses have been proposed. Understanding the formation mechanism of these haematite spherules can thus improve our knowledge on the possible geologic evolution and links to life development on Mars. Here, we show that shape, size, fabric and mineralogical composition of the Martian spherules share similarities with corresponding iron spherules currently forming on the Earth over an active submarine hydrothermal system located off Panarea Island (Aeolian Islands, Mediterranean Sea). Hydrothermal fluids associated with volcanic activity enable these terrestrial spheroidal grains to form and grow. The recent exceptional discovery of a still working iron-ooid source on the Earth provides indications that past hydrothermal activity on the Red Planet is a possible scenario to be considered as the cause of formation of these enigmatic iron grains.
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Río tinto: a geochemical and mineralogical terrestrial analogue of Mars. Life (Basel) 2014; 4:511-34. [PMID: 25370383 PMCID: PMC4206857 DOI: 10.3390/life4030511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2014] [Revised: 08/22/2014] [Accepted: 08/28/2014] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The geomicrobiological characterization of the water column and sediments of Río Tinto (Huelva, Southwestern Spain) have proven the importance of the iron and the sulfur cycles, not only in generating the extreme conditions of the habitat (low pH, high concentration of toxic heavy metals), but also in maintaining the high level of microbial diversity detected in the basin. It has been proven that the extreme acidic conditions of Río Tinto basin are not the product of 5000 years of mining activity in the area, but the consequence of an active underground bioreactor that obtains its energy from the massive sulfidic minerals existing in the Iberian Pyrite Belt. Two drilling projects, MARTE (Mars Astrobiology Research and Technology Experiment) (2003–2006) and IPBSL (Iberian Pyrite Belt Subsurface Life Detection) (2011–2015), were developed and carried out to provide evidence of subsurface microbial activity and the potential resources that support these activities. The reduced substrates and the oxidants that drive the system appear to come from the rock matrix. These resources need only groundwater to launch diverse microbial metabolisms. The similarities between the vast sulfate and iron oxide deposits on Mars and the main sulfide bioleaching products found in the Tinto basin have given Río Tinto the status of a geochemical and mineralogical Mars terrestrial analogue.
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Weitz CM, Noe Dobrea EZ, Lane MD, Knudson AT. Geologic relationships between gray hematite, sulfates, and clays in Capri Chasma. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012. [DOI: 10.1029/2012je004092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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Wiseman SM, Arvidson RE, Morris RV, Poulet F, Andrews-Hanna JC, Bishop JL, Murchie SL, Seelos FP, Des Marais D, Griffes JL. Spectral and stratigraphic mapping of hydrated sulfate and phyllosilicate-bearing deposits in northern Sinus Meridiani, Mars. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.1029/2009je003354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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9
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Moore JM, Bullock MA, Newsom H, Nelson M. Laboratory simulations of Mars evaporite geochemistry. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.1029/2008je003208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Chojnacki M, Hynek BM. Geological context of water-altered minerals in Valles Marineris, Mars. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008. [DOI: 10.1029/2007je003070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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11
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Calvin WM, Shoffner JD, Johnson JR, Knoll AH, Pocock JM, Squyres SW, Weitz CM, Arvidson RE, Bell JF, Christensen PR, de Souza PA, Farrand WH, Glotch TD, Herkenhoff KE, Jolliff BL, Knudson AT, McLennan SM, Rogers AD, Thompson SD. Hematite spherules at Meridiani: Results from MI, Mini-TES, and Pancam. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008. [DOI: 10.1029/2007je003048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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12
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Rao MN, Nyquist LE, Wentworth SJ, Sutton SR, Garrison DH. The nature of Martian fluids based on mobile element studies in salt-assemblages from Martian meteorites. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008. [DOI: 10.1029/2007je002958] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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13
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Hansen CJ, Paige DA, Bearman G, Furstenau S, Horn J, Mahoney C, Patrick S, Peters G, Scherbenski J, Shiraishi L, Zimmerman W. SPADE: A rock-crushing and sample-handling system developed for Mars missions. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2007. [DOI: 10.1029/2005je002413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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14
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Glotch TD, Rogers AD. Evidence for aqueous deposition of hematite- and sulfate-rich light-toned layered deposits in Aureum and Iani Chaos, Mars. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2007. [DOI: 10.1029/2006je002863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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15
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Rogers AD, Christensen PR. Surface mineralogy of Martian low-albedo regions from MGS-TES data: Implications for upper crustal evolution and surface alteration. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2007. [DOI: 10.1029/2006je002727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 166] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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16
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Karunatillake S, Squyres SW, Taylor GJ, Keller JM, Gasnault O, Evans LG, Reedy RC, Starr R, Boynton W, Janes DM, Kerry KE, Dohm JM, Sprague AL, Hahn BC, Hamara D. Composition of northern low-albedo regions of Mars: Insights from the Mars Odyssey Gamma Ray Spectrometer. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2006. [DOI: 10.1029/2006je002675] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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17
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Arvidson RE, Poulet F, Morris RV, Bibring JP, Bell JF, Squyres SW, Christensen PR, Bellucci G, Gondet B, Ehlmann BL, Farrand WH, Fergason RL, Golombek M, Griffes JL, Grotzinger J, Guinness EA, Herkenhoff KE, Johnson JR, Klingelhöfer G, Langevin Y, Ming D, Seelos K, Sullivan RJ, Ward JG, Wiseman SM, Wolff M. Nature and origin of the hematite-bearing plains of Terra Meridiani based on analyses of orbital and Mars Exploration rover data sets. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2006. [DOI: 10.1029/2006je002728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 131] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- R. E. Arvidson
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences; Washington University; St. Louis Missouri USA
| | - F. Poulet
- Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale; Université Paris-Sud; Orsay France
| | | | - J.-P. Bibring
- Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale; Université Paris-Sud; Orsay France
| | - J. F. Bell
- Department of Astronomy; Cornell University; Ithaca New York USA
| | - S. W. Squyres
- Department of Astronomy; Cornell University; Ithaca New York USA
| | - P. R. Christensen
- Department of Geological Sciences; Arizona State University; Tempe Arizona USA
| | - G. Bellucci
- Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario; Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica; Rome Italy
| | - B. Gondet
- Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale; Université Paris-Sud; Orsay France
| | - B. L. Ehlmann
- School of Geography and Environment; University of Oxford; Oxford UK
| | | | - R. L. Fergason
- Department of Geological Sciences; Arizona State University; Tempe Arizona USA
| | - M. Golombek
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Pasadena California USA
| | - J. L. Griffes
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences; Washington University; St. Louis Missouri USA
| | - J. Grotzinger
- Geological and Planetary Sciences; California Institute of Technology; Pasadena California USA
| | - E. A. Guinness
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences; Washington University; St. Louis Missouri USA
| | | | | | - G. Klingelhöfer
- Institut für Anorganische und Analytische Chemie; Johannes Gutenberg-Universität; Mainz Germany
| | - Y. Langevin
- Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale; Université Paris-Sud; Orsay France
| | - D. Ming
- NASA Johnson Space Center; Houston Texas USA
| | - K. Seelos
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences; Washington University; St. Louis Missouri USA
| | - R. J. Sullivan
- Department of Astronomy; Cornell University; Ithaca New York USA
| | - J. G. Ward
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences; Washington University; St. Louis Missouri USA
| | - S. M. Wiseman
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences; Washington University; St. Louis Missouri USA
| | - M. Wolff
- Space Science Institute; Boulder Colorado USA
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Glotch TD, Bandfield JL. Determination and interpretation of surface and atmospheric Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer spectral end-members at the Meridiani Planum landing site. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2006. [DOI: 10.1029/2005je002671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Timothy D. Glotch
- Division of Geological and Planetary Science; California Institute of Technology; Pasadena California USA
| | - Joshua L. Bandfield
- Department of Geological Sciences; Arizona State University; Tempe Arizona USA
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19
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Fallacaro A, Calvin WM. Spectral properties of Lake Superior banded iron formation: application to Martian hematite deposits. ASTROBIOLOGY 2006; 6:563-80. [PMID: 16916283 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2006.6.563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Several locations have been identified on Mars that expose bulk, coarsely crystalline gray hematite. These deposits have been interpreted as being sedimentary and formed in aqueous environments. Lake Superior Type (LST) banded iron formation (BIF) was investigated as a spectral and possible process analog to these deposits. In northern Michigan, LST BIF formed in a sedimentary, continental shelf or shallow basin environment under stable tectonic conditions, and the oxide facies contains gray, crystalline hematite. These deposits are Proterozoic in age and contain microfossils associated with the early diversification of life on Earth. Samples of the hematite-bearing oxide facies, as well as the carbonate facies, were collected and analyzed for their spectral and geochemical characteristics. Sample spectra were measured in the visible, near-infrared, and thermal infrared for comparison with remote and in situ spectra obtained at Mars. Thin section analysis, as well as X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy measurements, were performed to determine detailed geochemistry. There is no evidence for BIF at Opportunity's Meridiani landing site, and the results of this work will provide useful data for determining whether BIFs exist elsewhere on Mars and are, thus, relevant to current and future Mars exploration missions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia Fallacaro
- Geological Sciences and Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, USA.
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20
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Fergason RL, Christensen PR, Bell JF, Golombek MP, Herkenhoff KE, Kieffer HH. Physical properties of the Mars Exploration Rover landing sites as inferred from Mini-TES-derived thermal inertia. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2006. [DOI: 10.1029/2005je002583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 114] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Robin L. Fergason
- Department of Geological Sciences; Arizona State University; Tempe Arizona USA
| | | | - James F. Bell
- Department of Astronomy, Space Science Building; Cornell University; Ithaca New York USA
| | - Matthew P. Golombek
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory; California Institute of Technology; Pasadena California USA
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Knauth LP, Burt DM, Wohletz KH. Impact origin of sediments at the Opportunity landing site on Mars. Nature 2005; 438:1123-8. [PMID: 16372001 DOI: 10.1038/nature04383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2005] [Accepted: 10/26/2005] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity discovered sediments with layered structures thought to be unique to aqueous deposition and with minerals attributed to evaporation of an acidic salty sea. Remarkable iron-rich spherules were ascribed to later groundwater alteration, and the inferred abundance of water reinforced optimism that Mars was once habitable. The layered structures, however, are not unique to water deposition, and the scenario encounters difficulties in accounting for highly soluble salts admixed with less soluble salts, the lack of clay minerals from acid-rock reactions, high sphericity and near-uniform sizes of the spherules and the absence of a basin boundary. Here we present a simple alternative explanation involving deposition from a ground-hugging turbulent flow of rock fragments, salts, sulphides, brines and ice produced by meteorite impact. Subsequent weathering by intergranular water films can account for all of the features observed without invoking shallow seas, lakes or near-surface aquifers. Layered sequences observed elsewhere on heavily cratered Mars and attributed to wind, water or volcanism may well have formed similarly. If so, the search for past life on Mars should be reassessed accordingly.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Paul Knauth
- Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Box 871404, Tempe, Arizona 85287-1404, USA.
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22
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Golombek MP, Arvidson RE, Bell JF, Christensen PR, Crisp JA, Crumpler LS, Ehlmann BL, Fergason RL, Grant JA, Greeley R, Haldemann AFC, Kass DM, Parker TJ, Schofield JT, Squyres SW, Zurek RW. Assessment of Mars Exploration Rover landing site predictions. Nature 2005; 436:44-8. [PMID: 16001058 DOI: 10.1038/nature03600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Comprehensive analyses of remote sensing data during the three-year effort to select the Mars Exploration Rover landing sites at Gusev crater and at Meridiani Planum correctly predicted the atmospheric density profile during entry and descent and the safe and trafficable surfaces explored by the two rovers. The Gusev crater site was correctly predicted to be a low-relief surface that was less rocky than the Viking landing sites but comparably dusty. A dark, low-albedo, flat plain composed of basaltic sand and haematite with very few rocks was expected and found at Meridiani Planum. These results argue that future efforts to select safe landing sites based on existing and acquired remote sensing data will be successful. In contrast, geological interpretations of the sites based on remote sensing data were less certain and less successful, which emphasizes the inherent ambiguities in understanding surface geology from remotely sensed data and the uncertainty in predicting exactly what materials will be available for study at a landing site.
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Affiliation(s)
- M P Golombek
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109, USA.
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23
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Glotch TD. Geologic and mineralogic mapping of Aram Chaos: Evidence for a water-rich history. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2005. [DOI: 10.1029/2004je002389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 128] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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24
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Harrison KP. Groundwater-controlled valley networks and the decline of surface runoff on early Mars. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2005. [DOI: 10.1029/2005je002455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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Squyres SW, Arvidson RE, Bell JF, Brückner J, Cabrol NA, Calvin W, Carr MH, Christensen PR, Clark BC, Crumpler L, Marais DJD, d'Uston C, Economou T, Farmer J, Farrand W, Folkner W, Golombek M, Gorevan S, Grant JA, Greeley R, Grotzinger J, Haskin L, Herkenhoff KE, Hviid S, Johnson J, Klingelhöfer G, Knoll AH, Landis G, Lemmon M, Li R, Madsen MB, Malin MC, McLennan SM, McSween HY, Ming DW, Moersch J, Morris RV, Parker T, Rice JW, Richter L, Rieder R, Sims M, Smith M, Smith P, Soderblom LA, Sullivan R, Wänke H, Wdowiak T, Wolff M, Yen A. The Opportunity Rover's Athena science investigation at Meridiani Planum, Mars. Science 2004; 306:1698-703. [PMID: 15576602 DOI: 10.1126/science.1106171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 132] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
The Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has investigated the landing site in Eagle crater and the nearby plains within Meridiani Planum. The soils consist of fine-grained basaltic sand and a surface lag of hematite-rich spherules, spherule fragments, and other granules. Wind ripples are common. Underlying the thin soil layer, and exposed within small impact craters and troughs, are flat-lying sedimentary rocks. These rocks are finely laminated, are rich in sulfur, and contain abundant sulfate salts. Small-scale cross-lamination in some locations provides evidence for deposition in flowing liquid water. We interpret the rocks to be a mixture of chemical and siliciclastic sediments formed by episodic inundation by shallow surface water, followed by evaporation, exposure, and desiccation. Hematite-rich spherules are embedded in the rock and eroding from them. We interpret these spherules to be concretions formed by postdepositional diagenesis, again involving liquid water.
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Affiliation(s)
- S W Squyres
- Department of Astronomy, Space Sciences Building, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
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26
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Christensen PR, Wyatt MB, Glotch TD, Rogers AD, Anwar S, Arvidson RE, Bandfield JL, Blaney DL, Budney C, Calvin WM, Fallacaro A, Fergason RL, Gorelick N, Graff TG, Hamilton VE, Hayes AG, Johnson JR, Knudson AT, McSween HY, Mehall GL, Mehall LK, Moersch JE, Morris RV, Smith MD, Squyres SW, Ruff SW, Wolff MJ. Mineralogy at Meridiani Planum from the Mini-TES Experiment on the Opportunity Rover. Science 2004; 306:1733-9. [PMID: 15576609 DOI: 10.1126/science.1104909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 114] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
The Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES) on Opportunity investigated the mineral abundances and compositions of outcrops, rocks, and soils at Meridiani Planum. Coarse crystalline hematite and olivine-rich basaltic sands were observed as predicted from orbital TES spectroscopy. Outcrops of aqueous origin are composed of 15 to 35% by volume magnesium and calcium sulfates [a high-silica component modeled as a combination of glass, feldspar, and sheet silicates (approximately 20 to 30%)], and hematite; only minor jarosite is identified in Mini-TES spectra. Mini-TES spectra show only a hematite signature in the millimeter-sized spherules. Basaltic materials have more plagioclase than pyroxene, contain olivine, and are similar in inferred mineral composition to basalt mapped from orbit. Bounce rock is dominated by clinopyroxene and is close in inferred mineral composition to the basaltic martian meteorites. Bright wind streak material matches global dust. Waterlain rocks covered by unaltered basaltic sands suggest a change from an aqueous environment to one dominated by physical weathering.
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Affiliation(s)
- P R Christensen
- Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.
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