Large sulfur isotope fractionations in Martian sediments at Gale crater

Franz, H. B.; McAdam, A. C.; Ming, D. W.; Freissinet, C.; Mahaffy, P. R.; Eldridge, D. L.; Fischer, W. W.; Grotzinger, J. P.; House, C. H.; Hurowitz, J. A.; McLennan, S. M.; Schwenzer, S. P.; Vaniman, D. T.; Archer Jr, P. D.; Atreya, S. K.; Conrad, P. G.; Dottin III, J. W.; Eigenbrode, J. L.; Farley, K. A.; Glavin, D. P.; Johnson, S. S.; Knudson, C. A.; Morris, R. V.; Navarro-González, R.; Pavlov, A. A.; Plummer, R.; Rampe, E. B.; Stern, J. C.; Steele, A.; Summons, R. E.; Sutter, B.

doi:10.1038/ngeo3002

Large sulfur isotope fractionations in Martian sediments at Gale crater

Journal Article · Mon Aug 07 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Nature Geoscience

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo3002· OSTI ID:1480782

Franz, H. B. ^[1]; McAdam, A. C. ^[1]; Ming, D. W. ^[2]; Freissinet, C. ^[3]; Mahaffy, P. R. ^[1]; Eldridge, D. L. ^[4]; Fischer, W. W. ^[5]; Grotzinger, J. P. ^[5]; ^[6]; Hurowitz, J. A. ^[7]; McLennan, S. M. ^[7]; Schwenzer, S. P. ^[8]; Vaniman, D. T. ^[9]; Archer Jr, P. D. ^[10]; Atreya, S. K. ^[11]; Conrad, P. G. ^[1]; Dottin III, J. W. ^[4]; ^[1]; Farley, K. A. ^[5]; ^[1] more »

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD (United States)
NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX (United States)
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD (United States); Univ. of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), Baltimore, MD (United States). Center for Space Science and Technology
Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States). Dept. of Geology
California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States). Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences
Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States). Dept of Geosciences
Stony Brook Univ., NY (United States). Dept of Geosciences
Open Univ., Milton Keyes (United Kingdom). Dept. of Environment, Earth and Ecosystems
Planetary Science Inst., Tucson, AZ (United States)
NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX (United States); Jacobs Technology, Houston, TX (United States)
Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States). Dept. of Climate and Space Sciences
Georgetown Univ., Washington, DC (United States). Dept. of Biology/STIA
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD (United States); Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States). Dept. of Astronomy
Univ. Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM), Mexico City (Mexico). Inst. de Ciencias Nucleares
NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX (United States); Aerodyne Industries, Houston, TX (United States)
Carnegie Inst. of Washington, Argonne, IL (United States). Geophysical Lab.
Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States). Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences

Variability in the sulfur isotopic composition in sediments can reflect atmospheric, geologic and biological processes. Evidence for ancient fluvio-lacustrine environments at Gale crater on Mars and a lack of efficient crustal recycling mechanisms on the planet suggests a surface environment that was once warm enough to allow the presence of liquid water, at least for discrete periods of time, and implies a greenhouse effect that may have been influenced by sulfur-bearing volcanic gases. Here we report in situ analyses of the sulfur isotopic compositions of SO₂ volatilized from ten sediment samples acquired by NASA's Curiosity rover along a 13 km traverse of Gale crater. We find large variations in sulfur isotopic composition that exceed those measured for Martian meteorites and show both depletion and enrichment in34S. Measured values of δ³⁴S range from - 47 ± 14‰ to 28 ± 7‰, similar to the range typical of terrestrial environments. Although limited geochronological constraints on the stratigraphy traversed by Curiosity are available, we propose that the observed sulfur isotopic signatures at Gale crater can be explained by equilibrium fractionation between sulfate and sulfide in an impact-driven hydrothermal system and atmospheric processing of sulfur-bearing gases during transient warm periods.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231

OSTI ID:: 1480782

Journal Information:: Nature Geoscience, Journal Name: Nature Geoscience Journal Issue: 9 Vol. 10; ISSN 1752-0894

Publisher:: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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