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Title: Identification and Description of a Silicic Volcaniclastic Layer in Gale Crater, Mars, Using Active Neutron Interrogation

Abstract

The Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons instrument aboard the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, has been used to map a stratigraphically-conformable layer of high-SiO2 material in Gale crater. Previous work has shown this material contains tridymite, a high-temperature/low-pressure felsic mineral, interpreted to have a volcanic source rock. We describe several characteristics including orientation, extent, hydration, and geochemistry, consistent with a volcaniclastic material conformably deposited within a lacustrine mudstone succession. Relationships with widely dispersed alteration features and orbital detections of hydrated SiO2 suggest that this high-SiO2 layer extends at least 17 km laterally. Mineralogical abundances previously reported for this high-SiO2 material indicated that hydrous species were restricted to the amorphous (non-crystalline) fraction, which is dominated by SiO2. The low mean bulk hydration of this high-SiO2 layer (1.85 ± 0.13 wt.% water-equivalent hydrogen) is consistent with silicic glass in addition to opal-A and opal- CT. Persistent volcanic glass and tridymite in addition to opal in an ancient sedimentary unit indicates that the conversion to more ordered forms of crystalline SiO2 has not proceeded to completion and that this material has had only limited exposure to water since it originally erupted, despite having been transported in a uviolacustrine system. Our results, including the conformablemore » nature, large areal extent, and presence of vol- canic glass, indicate that this high-SiO2 material is derived from the product of evolved magma on Mars. This is the rst identi cation of a silicic volcaniclastic layer on another planet, and has important implications for magma evolution mechanisms on single-plate planets.« less

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [2];  [4]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [5]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [6]; ORCiD logo [7]; ORCiD logo [7];  [7]; ORCiD logo [8];  [8]; ORCiD logo [9]; ORCiD logo [10]; ORCiD logo [3]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. Arizona State Univ., Tempe, AZ (United States); Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
  2. Arizona State Univ., Tempe, AZ (United States). School of Earth and Space Exploration
  3. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
  4. Western Washington Univ,. Bellingham WA (United States)
  5. Univ. of Copenhagen (Denmark)
  6. California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States). Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences
  7. Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Moscow (Russian Federation). Space Research Inst.
  8. California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States). Jet Propulsion Lab. (JPL)
  9. Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States). Inst. of Meteoritics and Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
  10. Univ. of New Brunswick, Fredericton NB (Canada)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program
OSTI Identifier:
1604038
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-19-26619
Journal ID: ISSN 2169-9097
Grant/Contract Number:  
89233218CNA000001
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Journal of Geophysical Research. Planets
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 125; Journal Issue: 3; Journal ID: ISSN 2169-9097
Publisher:
American Geophysical Union
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
58 GEOSCIENCES; Planetary Sciences

Citation Formats

Czarnecki, S., Hardgrove, C., Gasda, P. J., Gabriel, T. S. J., Starr, M., Rice, M. S., Frydenvang, J., Wiens, R. C., Rapin, W., Nikiforov, S., Lisov, D., Litvak, M., Calef, F., Gengl, H., Newsom, H., Thompson, L., and Nowicki, S. Identification and Description of a Silicic Volcaniclastic Layer in Gale Crater, Mars, Using Active Neutron Interrogation. United States: N. p., 2020. Web. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JE006180.
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Czarnecki, S., Hardgrove, C., Gasda, P. J., Gabriel, T. S. J., Starr, M., Rice, M. S., Frydenvang, J., Wiens, R. C., Rapin, W., Nikiforov, S., Lisov, D., Litvak, M., Calef, F., Gengl, H., Newsom, H., Thompson, L., & Nowicki, S. Identification and Description of a Silicic Volcaniclastic Layer in Gale Crater, Mars, Using Active Neutron Interrogation. United States. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JE006180
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Czarnecki, S., Hardgrove, C., Gasda, P. J., Gabriel, T. S. J., Starr, M., Rice, M. S., Frydenvang, J., Wiens, R. C., Rapin, W., Nikiforov, S., Lisov, D., Litvak, M., Calef, F., Gengl, H., Newsom, H., Thompson, L., and Nowicki, S. Thu . "Identification and Description of a Silicic Volcaniclastic Layer in Gale Crater, Mars, Using Active Neutron Interrogation". United States. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JE006180. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1604038.
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@article{osti_1604038,
title = {Identification and Description of a Silicic Volcaniclastic Layer in Gale Crater, Mars, Using Active Neutron Interrogation},
author = {Czarnecki, S. and Hardgrove, C. and Gasda, P. J. and Gabriel, T. S. J. and Starr, M. and Rice, M. S. and Frydenvang, J. and Wiens, R. C. and Rapin, W. and Nikiforov, S. and Lisov, D. and Litvak, M. and Calef, F. and Gengl, H. and Newsom, H. and Thompson, L. and Nowicki, S.},
abstractNote = {The Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons instrument aboard the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, has been used to map a stratigraphically-conformable layer of high-SiO2 material in Gale crater. Previous work has shown this material contains tridymite, a high-temperature/low-pressure felsic mineral, interpreted to have a volcanic source rock. We describe several characteristics including orientation, extent, hydration, and geochemistry, consistent with a volcaniclastic material conformably deposited within a lacustrine mudstone succession. Relationships with widely dispersed alteration features and orbital detections of hydrated SiO2 suggest that this high-SiO2 layer extends at least 17 km laterally. Mineralogical abundances previously reported for this high-SiO2 material indicated that hydrous species were restricted to the amorphous (non-crystalline) fraction, which is dominated by SiO2. The low mean bulk hydration of this high-SiO2 layer (1.85 ± 0.13 wt.% water-equivalent hydrogen) is consistent with silicic glass in addition to opal-A and opal- CT. Persistent volcanic glass and tridymite in addition to opal in an ancient sedimentary unit indicates that the conversion to more ordered forms of crystalline SiO2 has not proceeded to completion and that this material has had only limited exposure to water since it originally erupted, despite having been transported in a uviolacustrine system. Our results, including the conformable nature, large areal extent, and presence of vol- canic glass, indicate that this high-SiO2 material is derived from the product of evolved magma on Mars. This is the rst identi cation of a silicic volcaniclastic layer on another planet, and has important implications for magma evolution mechanisms on single-plate planets.},
doi = {10.1029/2019JE006180},
journal = {Journal of Geophysical Research. Planets},
number = 3,
volume = 125,
place = {United States},
year = {2020},
month = {1}
}
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