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Title: Desiccation cracks provide evidence of lake drying on Mars, Sutton Island member, Murray formation, Gale Crater

Abstract

Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover data are used to describe the morphology of desiccation cracks observed in ancient lacustrine strata at Gale crater, Mars, and to interpret their paleoenvironmental setting. The desiccation cracks indicate subaerial exposure of lacustrine facies in the Sutton Island member of the Murray formation. In association with ripple cross-stratification and possible eolian cross-bedding, these facies indicate a transition from longer-lived perennial lakes recorded by older strata to younger lakes characterized by intermittent exposure. The transition from perennial to episodically exposed lacustrine environments provides evidence for local to regional climate change that can help constrain Mars climate models.

Authors:
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [1];  [6];  [7];  [8];  [9];  [3];  [10];  [11];  [12];  [13];  [14];  [1];  [15]; ORCiD logo [16] more »;  [17];  [9];  [9];  [18];  [9] « less
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States)
  2. Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States)
  3. CNRS/Univ. Nantes, Nantes (France)
  4. Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)
  5. Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)
  6. Univ. of Western Ontario, London, ON (Canada)
  7. Univ. of New Brunswick, NB (Canada)
  8. Stony Brook Univ., Stony Brook, NY (United States)
  9. Univ. de Toulouse, Toulouse (France)
  10. Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ (United States)
  11. Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States)
  12. Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
  13. The Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)
  14. Imperial College London, London (United Kingdom)
  15. Univ. of Guelph, Guelph, ON (Canada)
  16. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
  17. Univ. of Copenhagen, Copenhagen (Denmark)
  18. Université de Lorraine, 54000 Nancy, France
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1508553
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-18-28853
Journal ID: ISSN 0091-7613
Grant/Contract Number:  
89233218CNA000001
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Geology
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 46; Journal Issue: 6; Journal ID: ISSN 0091-7613
Publisher:
Geological Society of America
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
58 GEOSCIENCES; Planetary Sciences

Citation Formats

Stein, N., Grotzinger, J. P., Schieber, J., Mangold, N., Hallet, B., Newsom, H., Stack, K. M., Berger, J. A., Thompson, Lucy, Siebach, K. L., Cousin, A., Le Mouélic, Stephane, Minitti, M., Sumner, D. Y., Fedo, C., House, C. H., Gupta, S., Vasavada, A. R., Gellert, R., Wiens, Roger Craig, Frydenvang, J., Forni, O., Meslin, P. Y., Payré, V., and Dehouck, E. Desiccation cracks provide evidence of lake drying on Mars, Sutton Island member, Murray formation, Gale Crater. United States: N. p., 2018. Web. doi:10.1130/G40005.1.
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Stein, N., Grotzinger, J. P., Schieber, J., Mangold, N., Hallet, B., Newsom, H., Stack, K. M., Berger, J. A., Thompson, Lucy, Siebach, K. L., Cousin, A., Le Mouélic, Stephane, Minitti, M., Sumner, D. Y., Fedo, C., House, C. H., Gupta, S., Vasavada, A. R., Gellert, R., Wiens, Roger Craig, Frydenvang, J., Forni, O., Meslin, P. Y., Payré, V., & Dehouck, E. Desiccation cracks provide evidence of lake drying on Mars, Sutton Island member, Murray formation, Gale Crater. United States. https://doi.org/10.1130/G40005.1
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Stein, N., Grotzinger, J. P., Schieber, J., Mangold, N., Hallet, B., Newsom, H., Stack, K. M., Berger, J. A., Thompson, Lucy, Siebach, K. L., Cousin, A., Le Mouélic, Stephane, Minitti, M., Sumner, D. Y., Fedo, C., House, C. H., Gupta, S., Vasavada, A. R., Gellert, R., Wiens, Roger Craig, Frydenvang, J., Forni, O., Meslin, P. Y., Payré, V., and Dehouck, E. Mon . "Desiccation cracks provide evidence of lake drying on Mars, Sutton Island member, Murray formation, Gale Crater". United States. https://doi.org/10.1130/G40005.1. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1508553.
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@article{osti_1508553,
title = {Desiccation cracks provide evidence of lake drying on Mars, Sutton Island member, Murray formation, Gale Crater},
author = {Stein, N. and Grotzinger, J. P. and Schieber, J. and Mangold, N. and Hallet, B. and Newsom, H. and Stack, K. M. and Berger, J. A. and Thompson, Lucy and Siebach, K. L. and Cousin, A. and Le Mouélic, Stephane and Minitti, M. and Sumner, D. Y. and Fedo, C. and House, C. H. and Gupta, S. and Vasavada, A. R. and Gellert, R. and Wiens, Roger Craig and Frydenvang, J. and Forni, O. and Meslin, P. Y. and Payré, V. and Dehouck, E.},
abstractNote = {Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover data are used to describe the morphology of desiccation cracks observed in ancient lacustrine strata at Gale crater, Mars, and to interpret their paleoenvironmental setting. The desiccation cracks indicate subaerial exposure of lacustrine facies in the Sutton Island member of the Murray formation. In association with ripple cross-stratification and possible eolian cross-bedding, these facies indicate a transition from longer-lived perennial lakes recorded by older strata to younger lakes characterized by intermittent exposure. The transition from perennial to episodically exposed lacustrine environments provides evidence for local to regional climate change that can help constrain Mars climate models.},
doi = {10.1130/G40005.1},
journal = {Geology},
number = 6,
volume = 46,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Apr 16 00:00:00 EDT 2018},
month = {Mon Apr 16 00:00:00 EDT 2018}
}
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Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1130/G40005.1
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Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 68 works
Citation information provided by
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Figures / Tables:

Figure 1 Figure 1: Stratigraphic column for the sedimentary facies of the Murray formation, Mars. Old Soaker (OS) rock slab is in the heterolithic facies of the Sutton Island member of the Murray formation. El.—elevation; Lam.—laminated.
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Works referenced in this record:

Ancient Martian aeolian processes and palaeomorphology reconstructed from the Stimson formation on the lower slope of Aeolis Mons, Gale crater, Mars
journal, April 2018

  • Banham, Steven G.; Gupta, Sanjeev; Rubin, David M.
  • Sedimentology, Vol. 65, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.1111/sed.12469

Evolution of mud-crack patterns during repeated drying cycles
journal, January 2010

  • Goehring, Lucas; Conroy, Rebecca; Akhter, Asad
  • Soft Matter, Vol. 6, Issue 15
  • DOI: 10.1039/b922206e

Stratigraphy and sedimentology of a dry to wet eolian depositional system, Burns formation, Meridiani Planum, Mars
journal, November 2005

  • Grotzinger, J. P.; Arvidson, R. E.; Bell, J. F.
  • Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 240, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2005.09.039

A Habitable Fluvio-Lacustrine Environment at Yellowknife Bay, Gale Crater, Mars
journal, December 2013

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

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

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

Mineralogy of an ancient lacustrine mudstone succession from the Murray formation, Gale crater, Mars
journal, August 2017

Development and geometry of isotropic and directional shrinkage-crack patterns
journal, June 2000

  • Shorlin, Kelly A.; de Bruyn, John R.; Graham, Malcolm
  • Physical Review E, Vol. 61, Issue 6
  • DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.61.6950

Resurfacing time of terrestrial surfaces by the formation and maturation of polygonal patterned ground
journal, January 2003

Martian Fluvial Conglomerates at Gale Crater
journal, May 2013

  • Williams, R. M. E.; Grotzinger, J. P.; Dietrich, W. E.
  • Science, Vol. 340, Issue 6136
  • DOI: 10.1126/science.1237317
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    Works referencing / citing this record:

    Geologic Constraints on Early Mars Climate
    journal, January 2019

    High Survivability of Micrometeorites on Mars: Sites With Enhanced Availability of Limiting Nutrients
    journal, July 2019

    • Tomkins, Andrew G.; Genge, Matthew J.; Tait, Alastair W.
    • Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, Vol. 124, Issue 7
    • DOI: 10.1029/2019je006005

    Extensive Polygonal Fracture Network in Siccar Point group Strata: Fracture Mechanisms and Implications for Fluid Circulation in Gale Crater, Mars
    journal, October 2019

    • Kronyak, R. E.; Kah, L. C.; Miklusicak, N. B.
    • Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, Vol. 124, Issue 10
    • DOI: 10.1029/2019je006125

    An interval of high salinity in ancient Gale crater lake on Mars
    journal, October 2019

    Ichnofossils, Cracks or Crystals? A Test for Biogenicity of Stick-Like Structures from Vera Rubin Ridge, Mars
    journal, January 2020

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      Figures / Tables found in this record:

      Figure 1 (p. 3)figure
      Figure 2 (p. 3)figure
      Figure 3 (p. 3)figure
      Figure 4 (p. 4)figure
      TABLE 1 (p. 4)table
      Table 2 (p. 5)table
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