An interval of high salinity in ancient Gale crater lake on Mars

Rapin, William; Ehlmann, Bethany L.; Dromart, G.; Schieber, J.; Thomas, N. H.; Fischer, W. W.; Fox, V. K.; Stein, Nathan T.; Nachon, M.; Clark, Benton C.; Kah, L. C.; Thompson, L.; Meyer, H. A.; Gabriel, T. S. J.; Hardgrove, Craig; Mangold, N.; Rivera-Hernandez, F.; Wiens, Roger Craig; Vasavada, A. R.

doi:10.1038/s41561-019-0458-8

Title: An interval of high salinity in ancient Gale crater lake on Mars

Abstract

Precipitated minerals, including salts, are primary tracers of atmospheric conditions and water chemistry in lake basins. Ongoing in situ exploration by the Curiosity rover of Hesperian (around 3.3–3.7 Gyr old) sedimentary rocks within Gale crater on Mars has revealed clay-bearing fluvio-lacustrine deposits with sporadic occurrences of sulfate minerals, primarily as late-stage diagenetic veins and concretions. In this work, we report bulk enrichments, disseminated in the bedrock, of 30–50 wt% calcium sulfate intermittently over about 150 m of stratigraphy, and of 26–36 wt% hydrated magnesium sulfate within a thinner section of strata. We use geochemical analysis, primarily from the ChemCam laser-induced breakdown spectrometer, combined with results from other rover instruments, to characterize the enrichments and their lithology. The deposits are consistent with early diagenetic, pre-compaction salt precipitation from brines concentrated by evaporation, including magnesium sulfate-rich brines from extreme evaporative concentration. This saline interval represents a substantial hydrological perturbation of the lake basin, which may reflect variations in Mars’ obliquity and orbital parameters. Our findings support stepwise changes in Martian climate during the Hesperian, leading to more arid and sulfate-dominated environments as previously inferred from orbital observations.

Authors:

^[1]; Ehlmann, Bethany L. ^[2]; Dromart, G. ^[3]; Schieber, J. ^[4]; Thomas, N. H. ^[1]; Fischer, W. W. ^[1]; Fox, V. K. ^[1]; Stein, Nathan T. ^[1]; Nachon, M. ^[5]; Clark, Benton C. ^[6];

^[7]; Thompson, L. ^[8]; Meyer, H. A. ^[1]; Gabriel, T. S. J. ^[9]; Hardgrove, Craig ^[9]; Mangold, N. ^[10];

^[11];

^[12]; Vasavada, A. R. ^[2]

California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States)
California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States). Jet Propulsion Lab. (JPL)
Univ. of Lyon (France)
Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States)
Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States)
Space Science Inst., Boulder, CO (United States)
Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
Univ. of New Brunswick, Fredericton NB (Canada)
Arizona State Univ., Tempe, AZ (United States)
Univ. Nantes (France); Univ. Angers (France)
Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH (United States)
Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Publication Date:: 2019-10-07

Research Org.:: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

OSTI Identifier:: 1734724

Report Number(s):: LA-UR-19-32327
Journal ID: 1752-0894 ; 1752-0908 (Electronic)

Grant/Contract Number:: 89233218CNA000001

Resource Type:: Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:: Nature Geoscience

Additional Journal Information:: Journal Volume: 12; Journal Issue: 11

Publisher:: Nature Publishing Group

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 58 GEOSCIENCES; Planetary Sciences

Citation Formats


                    Rapin, William, Ehlmann, Bethany L., Dromart, G., Schieber, J., Thomas, N. H., Fischer, W. W., Fox, V. K., Stein, Nathan T., Nachon, M., Clark, Benton C., Kah, L. C., Thompson, L., Meyer, H. A., Gabriel, T. S. J., Hardgrove, Craig, Mangold, N., Rivera-Hernandez, F., Wiens, Roger Craig, and Vasavada, A. R.. An interval of high salinity in ancient Gale crater lake on Mars.  United States: N. p., 2019. 
        Web.  doi:10.1038/s41561-019-0458-8.

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                    Rapin, William, Ehlmann, Bethany L., Dromart, G., Schieber, J., Thomas, N. H., Fischer, W. W., Fox, V. K., Stein, Nathan T., Nachon, M., Clark, Benton C., Kah, L. C., Thompson, L., Meyer, H. A., Gabriel, T. S. J., Hardgrove, Craig, Mangold, N., Rivera-Hernandez, F., Wiens, Roger Craig, & Vasavada, A. R.. An interval of high salinity in ancient Gale crater lake on Mars.  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-019-0458-8

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                    Rapin, William, Ehlmann, Bethany L., Dromart, G., Schieber, J., Thomas, N. H., Fischer, W. W., Fox, V. K., Stein, Nathan T., Nachon, M., Clark, Benton C., Kah, L. C., Thompson, L., Meyer, H. A., Gabriel, T. S. J., Hardgrove, Craig, Mangold, N., Rivera-Hernandez, F., Wiens, Roger Craig, and Vasavada, A. R.. 2019.  
        "An interval of high salinity in ancient Gale crater lake on Mars".  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-019-0458-8.  https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1734724.

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@article{osti_1734724,

  title        = {An interval of high salinity in ancient Gale crater lake on Mars},

  author       = {Rapin, William and Ehlmann, Bethany L. and Dromart, G. and Schieber, J. and Thomas, N. H. and Fischer, W. W. and Fox, V. K. and Stein, Nathan T. and Nachon, M. and Clark, Benton C. and Kah, L. C. and Thompson, L. and Meyer, H. A. and Gabriel, T. S. J. and Hardgrove, Craig and Mangold, N. and Rivera-Hernandez, F. and Wiens, Roger Craig and Vasavada, A. R.},

  abstractNote = {Precipitated minerals, including salts, are primary tracers of atmospheric conditions and water chemistry in lake basins. Ongoing in situ exploration by the Curiosity rover of Hesperian (around 3.3–3.7 Gyr old) sedimentary rocks within Gale crater on Mars has revealed clay-bearing fluvio-lacustrine deposits with sporadic occurrences of sulfate minerals, primarily as late-stage diagenetic veins and concretions. In this work, we report bulk enrichments, disseminated in the bedrock, of 30–50 wt% calcium sulfate intermittently over about 150 m of stratigraphy, and of 26–36 wt% hydrated magnesium sulfate within a thinner section of strata. We use geochemical analysis, primarily from the ChemCam laser-induced breakdown spectrometer, combined with results from other rover instruments, to characterize the enrichments and their lithology. The deposits are consistent with early diagenetic, pre-compaction salt precipitation from brines concentrated by evaporation, including magnesium sulfate-rich brines from extreme evaporative concentration. This saline interval represents a substantial hydrological perturbation of the lake basin, which may reflect variations in Mars’ obliquity and orbital parameters. Our findings support stepwise changes in Martian climate during the Hesperian, leading to more arid and sulfate-dominated environments as previously inferred from orbital observations.},

  doi          = {10.1038/s41561-019-0458-8},

  url          = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1734724},
  journal      = {Nature Geoscience},
number       = 11,

  volume       = 12,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {2019},

  month        = {10}

}

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Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 46, Issue 19
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Mars Science Laboratory Observations of Chloride Salts in Gale Crater, Mars
journal, October 2019

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Title: An interval of high salinity in ancient Gale crater lake on Mars

Abstract

Citation Formats

Using ChemCam LIBS data to constrain grain size in rocks on Mars: Proof of concept and application to rocks at Yellowknife Bay and Pahrump Hills, Gale crater journal, March 2019

Chemical divides and evaporite assemblages on Mars journal, January 2006

Transformations of Mg- and Ca-sulfate hydrates in Mars regolith journal, October 2006

Clay mineral diversity and abundance in sedimentary rocks of Gale crater, Mars journal, June 2018

Biosedimentary and geochemical constraints on the precipitation of mineral crusts in shallow sulphate lakes journal, April 2018

Studying of water consent in Mars’ gale crater: The first results of the DAN experiment on the NASA curiosity rover journal, March 2014

The ChemCam Instrument Suite on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Rover: Science Objectives and Mast Unit Description journal, July 2012

Encounters with an unearthly mudstone: Understanding the first mudstone found on Mars journal, November 2016

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Chemistry of diagenetic features analyzed by ChemCam at Pahrump Hills, Gale crater, Mars journal, January 2017

Extraction of compositional and hydration information of sulfates from laser-induced plasma spectra recorded under Mars atmospheric conditions — Implications for ChemCam investigations on Curiosity rover journal, February 2012

Characterization of LIBS emission lines for the identification of chlorides, carbonates, and sulfates in salt/basalt mixtures for the application to MSL ChemCam data: LIBS OF CL, C, S IN SALT-BASALT MIXTURES journal, April 2017

Detection and discrimination of sulfate minerals using reflectance spectroscopy journal, September 2006

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Strategies for Mars remote Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy analysis of sulfur in geological samples journal, January 2011

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Redox stratification of an ancient lake in Gale crater, Mars journal, June 2017

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Elemental Geochemistry of Sedimentary Rocks at Yellowknife Bay, Gale Crater, Mars journal, December 2013

Syndepositional precipitation of calcium sulfate in Gale Crater, Mars journal, September 2018

Magnetite authigenesis and the warming of early Mars journal, August 2018

Global Mineralogical and Aqueous Mars History Derived from OMEGA/Mars Express Data journal, April 2006

Sulfate minerals and organic compounds on Mars journal, January 2006

Microbial Diversity in a Hypersaline Sulfate Lake: A Terrestrial Analog of Ancient Mars journal, September 2017

Mineralogy of the Martian Surface journal, May 2014

Chemical alteration of fine-grained sedimentary rocks at Gale crater journal, March 2019

Recalibration of the Mars Science Laboratory ChemCam instrument with an expanded geochemical database journal, March 2017

Hydration state of calcium sulfates in Gale crater, Mars: Identification of bassanite veins journal, October 2016

Desiccation cracks provide evidence of lake drying on Mars, Sutton Island member, Murray formation, Gale Crater journal, April 2018

An improvement to the volcano-scan algorithm for atmospheric correction of CRISM and OMEGA spectral data journal, June 2009

Numerically stable algorithm for discrete-ordinate-method radiative transfer in multiple scattering and emitting layered media journal, January 1988

The stratigraphy and evolution of lower Mount Sharp from spectral, morphological, and thermophysical orbital data sets: Stratigraphy and Evolution of Mount Sharp journal, September 2016

Deposition, exhumation, and paleoclimate of an ancient lake deposit, Gale crater, Mars journal, October 2015

Mars Science Laboratory Mission and Science Investigation journal, July 2012

Calcium sulfate veins characterized by ChemCam/Curiosity at Gale crater, Mars: CALCIUM SULFATE VEINS AT GALE CRATER journal, September 2014

Molecular and phenetic characterization of the bacterial assemblage of Hot Lake, WA, an environment with high concentrations of magnesium sulphate, and its relevance to Mars journal, January 2014

Microbial Diversity in a Hypersaline Sulfate Lake: A Terrestrial Analog of Ancient Mars journal, September 2017

Mars Science Laboratory Observations of Chloride Salts in Gale Crater, Mars journal, October 2019

Mars Science Laboratory Observations of Chloride Salts in Gale Crater, Mars journal, October 2019

Using ChemCam LIBS data to constrain grain size in rocks on Mars: Proof of concept and application to rocks at Yellowknife Bay and Pahrump Hills, Gale crater
journal, March 2019

Chemical divides and evaporite assemblages on Mars
journal, January 2006

Transformations of Mg- and Ca-sulfate hydrates in Mars regolith
journal, October 2006

Clay mineral diversity and abundance in sedimentary rocks of Gale crater, Mars
journal, June 2018

Biosedimentary and geochemical constraints on the precipitation of mineral crusts in shallow sulphate lakes
journal, April 2018

Studying of water consent in Mars’ gale crater: The first results of the DAN experiment on the NASA curiosity rover
journal, March 2014

The ChemCam Instrument Suite on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Rover: Science Objectives and Mast Unit Description
journal, July 2012

Encounters with an unearthly mudstone: Understanding the first mudstone found on Mars
journal, November 2016

Gypsum, bassanite, and anhydrite at Gale crater, Mars
journal, July 2018

Long term evolution and chaotic diffusion of the insolation quantities of Mars
journal, August 2004

Chemistry of diagenetic features analyzed by ChemCam at Pahrump Hills, Gale crater, Mars
journal, January 2017

Extraction of compositional and hydration information of sulfates from laser-induced plasma spectra recorded under Mars atmospheric conditions — Implications for ChemCam investigations on Curiosity rover
journal, February 2012

Characterization of LIBS emission lines for the identification of chlorides, carbonates, and sulfates in salt/basalt mixtures for the application to MSL ChemCam data: LIBS OF CL, C, S IN SALT-BASALT MIXTURES
journal, April 2017

Detection and discrimination of sulfate minerals using reflectance spectroscopy
journal, September 2006

Paleoclimate of Mars as captured by the stratigraphic record in Gale Crater: STRATIGRAPHY OF GALE CRATER
journal, February 2010

Chemistry and mineralogy of outcrops at Meridiani Planum
journal, November 2005

Strategies for Mars remote Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy analysis of sulfur in geological samples
journal, January 2011

Geochemical modeling of evaporation processes on Mars: Insight from the sedimentary record at Meridiani Planum
journal, November 2005

Detection and identification of salts and frozen salt solutions combining laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy and multivariate analysis methods: A study for future martian exploration
journal, March 2013

Sequence of infilling events in Gale Crater, Mars: Results from morphology, stratigraphy, and mineralogy: SEDIMENTARY INFILLING IN GALE CRATER
journal, December 2013

Redox stratification of an ancient lake in Gale crater, Mars
journal, June 2017

Deconvolution of distinct lithology chemistry through oversampling with the Mars Science Laboratory Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer: Deconvolution of distinct lithology chemistry with the MSL APXS
journal, February 2016

Experimental stability of magnesium sulfate hydrates that may be present on Mars
journal, January 2007

Quantification of water content by laser induced breakdown spectroscopy on Mars
journal, April 2017

The ChemCam Instrument Suite on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Rover: Body Unit and Combined System Tests
journal, June 2012

Elemental Geochemistry of Sedimentary Rocks at Yellowknife Bay, Gale Crater, Mars
journal, December 2013

Syndepositional precipitation of calcium sulfate in Gale Crater, Mars
journal, September 2018

Magnetite authigenesis and the warming of early Mars
journal, August 2018

Global Mineralogical and Aqueous Mars History Derived from OMEGA/Mars Express Data
journal, April 2006

Sulfate minerals and organic compounds on Mars
journal, January 2006

Microbial Diversity in a Hypersaline Sulfate Lake: A Terrestrial Analog of Ancient Mars
journal, September 2017

Mineralogy of the Martian Surface
journal, May 2014

Chemical alteration of fine-grained sedimentary rocks at Gale crater
journal, March 2019

Recalibration of the Mars Science Laboratory ChemCam instrument with an expanded geochemical database
journal, March 2017

Hydration state of calcium sulfates in Gale crater, Mars: Identification of bassanite veins
journal, October 2016

Desiccation cracks provide evidence of lake drying on Mars, Sutton Island member, Murray formation, Gale Crater
journal, April 2018

An improvement to the volcano-scan algorithm for atmospheric correction of CRISM and OMEGA spectral data
journal, June 2009

Numerically stable algorithm for discrete-ordinate-method radiative transfer in multiple scattering and emitting layered media
journal, January 1988

The stratigraphy and evolution of lower Mount Sharp from spectral, morphological, and thermophysical orbital data sets: Stratigraphy and Evolution of Mount Sharp
journal, September 2016

Deposition, exhumation, and paleoclimate of an ancient lake deposit, Gale crater, Mars
journal, October 2015

Mars Science Laboratory Mission and Science Investigation
journal, July 2012

Calcium sulfate veins characterized by ChemCam/Curiosity at Gale crater, Mars: CALCIUM SULFATE VEINS AT GALE CRATER
journal, September 2014

Molecular and phenetic characterization of the bacterial assemblage of Hot Lake, WA, an environment with high concentrations of magnesium sulphate, and its relevance to Mars
journal, January 2014

Microbial Diversity in a Hypersaline Sulfate Lake: A Terrestrial Analog of Ancient Mars
journal, September 2017

Mars Science Laboratory Observations of Chloride Salts in Gale Crater, Mars
journal, October 2019

Mars Science Laboratory Observations of Chloride Salts in Gale Crater, Mars
journal, October 2019