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Title: Mineral-Filled Fractures as Indicators of Multigenerational Fluid Flow in the Pahrump Hills Member of the Murray Formation, Gale Crater, Mars

Abstract

Mineral-filled fractures (veins) are valuable indicators of deformation and fluid flow within a sedimentary package. Information obtained from vein morphology, texture, and chemistry may elucidate the sequence and nature of postdepositional fluid events. Additional information from vein patterns and interactions between veins and host rock provides insight into fracture formation mechanism(s). The widespread occurrence of veins and other diagenetic features in the sedimentary rock record preserved in Gale crater, Mars, indicates that postdepositional fluids were regionally active considerably later in time than the primary fluviolacustrine environments responsible for the deposition of Mount Sharp strata. Here we report a suite of veins within the Murray formation at the Pahrump Hills locality that were investigated using the scientific payload of the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover. Based on an analysis of vein color, morphology, and texture, and corroborated by vein chemistry, we interpret three distinct vein types at Pahrump Hills: gray veins, white veins, and dark-toned veins. These veins represent distinct, separate episodes of postdepositional fluid flow, suggesting a protracted history of fluid stability in Gale crater. Additionally, we utilize vein patterns across multiple lithologies at the Pahrump Hills field site to suggest hydrofracture as the primary mechanism of fracture formation.

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [5]; ORCiD logo [6]; ORCiD logo [7]
  1. Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
  2. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, CA (United States)
  3. Univ. of Guelph, ON (Canada)
  4. Univ. of New Brunswick, Fredericton NB (Canada)
  5. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
  6. California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States). Jet Propulsion Lab. (JPL)
  7. Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
OSTI Identifier:
1734722
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-19-32325
Journal ID: ISSN 2333-5084
Grant/Contract Number:  
89233218CNA000001
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Earth and Space Science
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 6; Journal Issue: 2; Journal ID: ISSN 2333-5084
Publisher:
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
58 GEOSCIENCES; planetary sciences; hydrofracture; fluid flow; postdepositional diagenesis; veins; Gale crater, Mars; multigenerational

Citation Formats

Kronyak, R. E., Kah, L. C., Edgett, K. S., VanBommel, S. J., Thompson, L. M., Wiens, R. C., Sun, V. Z., and Nachon, M. Mineral-Filled Fractures as Indicators of Multigenerational Fluid Flow in the Pahrump Hills Member of the Murray Formation, Gale Crater, Mars. United States: N. p., 2019. Web. doi:10.1029/2018ea000482.
Kronyak, R. E., Kah, L. C., Edgett, K. S., VanBommel, S. J., Thompson, L. M., Wiens, R. C., Sun, V. Z., & Nachon, M. Mineral-Filled Fractures as Indicators of Multigenerational Fluid Flow in the Pahrump Hills Member of the Murray Formation, Gale Crater, Mars. United States. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018ea000482
Kronyak, R. E., Kah, L. C., Edgett, K. S., VanBommel, S. J., Thompson, L. M., Wiens, R. C., Sun, V. Z., and Nachon, M. 2019. "Mineral-Filled Fractures as Indicators of Multigenerational Fluid Flow in the Pahrump Hills Member of the Murray Formation, Gale Crater, Mars". United States. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018ea000482. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1734722.
@article{osti_1734722,
title = {Mineral-Filled Fractures as Indicators of Multigenerational Fluid Flow in the Pahrump Hills Member of the Murray Formation, Gale Crater, Mars},
author = {Kronyak, R. E. and Kah, L. C. and Edgett, K. S. and VanBommel, S. J. and Thompson, L. M. and Wiens, R. C. and Sun, V. Z. and Nachon, M.},
abstractNote = {Mineral-filled fractures (veins) are valuable indicators of deformation and fluid flow within a sedimentary package. Information obtained from vein morphology, texture, and chemistry may elucidate the sequence and nature of postdepositional fluid events. Additional information from vein patterns and interactions between veins and host rock provides insight into fracture formation mechanism(s). The widespread occurrence of veins and other diagenetic features in the sedimentary rock record preserved in Gale crater, Mars, indicates that postdepositional fluids were regionally active considerably later in time than the primary fluviolacustrine environments responsible for the deposition of Mount Sharp strata. Here we report a suite of veins within the Murray formation at the Pahrump Hills locality that were investigated using the scientific payload of the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover. Based on an analysis of vein color, morphology, and texture, and corroborated by vein chemistry, we interpret three distinct vein types at Pahrump Hills: gray veins, white veins, and dark-toned veins. These veins represent distinct, separate episodes of postdepositional fluid flow, suggesting a protracted history of fluid stability in Gale crater. Additionally, we utilize vein patterns across multiple lithologies at the Pahrump Hills field site to suggest hydrofracture as the primary mechanism of fracture formation.},
doi = {10.1029/2018ea000482},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1734722}, journal = {Earth and Space Science},
issn = {2333-5084},
number = 2,
volume = 6,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Jan 18 00:00:00 EST 2019},
month = {Fri Jan 18 00:00:00 EST 2019}
}

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Works referencing / citing this record:

Extensive Polygonal Fracture Network in Siccar Point group Strata: Fracture Mechanisms and Implications for Fluid Circulation in Gale Crater, Mars
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