Chemistry of diagenetic features analyzed by ChemCam at Pahrump Hills, Gale crater, Mars
Abstract
The Curiosity rover's campaign at Pahrump Hills provides the first analyses of lower Mount Sharp strata. We report ChemCam elemental composition of a diverse assemblage of post-depositional features embedded in, or cross-cutting, the host rock. ChemCam results demonstrate their compositional diversity, especially compared to the surrounding host rock: (i) Dendritic aggregates and relief enhanced features, characterized by a magnesium enhancement and sulfur detection, and interpreted as Mg-sulfates; (ii) A localized observation that displays iron enrichment associated with sulfur, interpreted as Fe-sulfate; (iii) Dark raised ridges with varying Mg- and Ca-enriched compositions compared to host rock; (iv) Several dark-toned veins with calcium enhancement associated with fluorine detection, interpreted as fluorite veins. (v) Light-toned veins with enhanced calcium associated with sulfur detection, and interpreted as Ca-sulfates. The diversity of the Pahrump Hills diagenetic assemblage suggests a complex post-depositional history for fine-grained sediments for which the origin has been interpreted as fluvial and lacustrine. Assessment of the spatial and relative temporal distribution of these features shows that the Mg-sulfate features are predominant in the lower part of the section, suggesting local modification of the sediments by early diagenetic fluids. Conversely, light-toned Ca-sulfate veins occur in the whole section and cross-cut all other features.more »
- Authors:
-
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- Univ. of Nantes (France). Lab. of Planetology and Geodynamics
- Univ. of Toulouse (France). Center for Space Studies of Radiation
- Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- U.S. Geological Survey Astrogeology Science Center, Flagstaff, AZ (United States)
- California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States). Jet Propulsion Lab.
- NASA Ames Research Center (ARC), Moffett Field, Mountain View, CA (United States)
- Univ. of Lorraine, Nancy (France). Geo Ressources
- Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States). College of Earth Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
- California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States). Division of Geologic and Planetary Sciences
- NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX (United States). Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division
- Univ. of Toulouse (France). Center for Space Studies of Radiation; German Aerospace Center (DLR), Berlin (Germany)
- Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States). Earth and Planetary Sciences
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1412864
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-17-27694
Journal ID: ISSN 0019-1035
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC52-06NA25396
- Resource Type:
- Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Icarus
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 281; Journal Issue: C; Journal ID: ISSN 0019-1035
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 58 GEOSCIENCES; Planetary Sciences; Mars surface; Geological processes; Mineralogy
Citation Formats
Nachon, M., Mangold, N., Forni, O., Kah, L. C., Cousin, A., Wiens, R. C., Anderson, R., Blaney, D., Blank, J. G., Calef, F., Clegg, S. M., Fabre, C., Fisk, M. R., Gasnault, O., Grotzinger, J. P., Kronyak, R., Lanza, N. L., Lasue, J., Deit, L. Le, Mouélic, S. Le, Maurice, S., Meslin, P. -Y., Oehler, D. Z., Payré, V., Rapin, W., Schröder, S., Stack, K., and Sumner, D. Chemistry of diagenetic features analyzed by ChemCam at Pahrump Hills, Gale crater, Mars. United States: N. p., 2017.
Web. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2016.08.026.
Nachon, M., Mangold, N., Forni, O., Kah, L. C., Cousin, A., Wiens, R. C., Anderson, R., Blaney, D., Blank, J. G., Calef, F., Clegg, S. M., Fabre, C., Fisk, M. R., Gasnault, O., Grotzinger, J. P., Kronyak, R., Lanza, N. L., Lasue, J., Deit, L. Le, Mouélic, S. Le, Maurice, S., Meslin, P. -Y., Oehler, D. Z., Payré, V., Rapin, W., Schröder, S., Stack, K., & Sumner, D. Chemistry of diagenetic features analyzed by ChemCam at Pahrump Hills, Gale crater, Mars. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2016.08.026
Nachon, M., Mangold, N., Forni, O., Kah, L. C., Cousin, A., Wiens, R. C., Anderson, R., Blaney, D., Blank, J. G., Calef, F., Clegg, S. M., Fabre, C., Fisk, M. R., Gasnault, O., Grotzinger, J. P., Kronyak, R., Lanza, N. L., Lasue, J., Deit, L. Le, Mouélic, S. Le, Maurice, S., Meslin, P. -Y., Oehler, D. Z., Payré, V., Rapin, W., Schröder, S., Stack, K., and Sumner, D. 2017.
"Chemistry of diagenetic features analyzed by ChemCam at Pahrump Hills, Gale crater, Mars". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2016.08.026. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1412864.
@article{osti_1412864,
title = {Chemistry of diagenetic features analyzed by ChemCam at Pahrump Hills, Gale crater, Mars},
author = {Nachon, M. and Mangold, N. and Forni, O. and Kah, L. C. and Cousin, A. and Wiens, R. C. and Anderson, R. and Blaney, D. and Blank, J. G. and Calef, F. and Clegg, S. M. and Fabre, C. and Fisk, M. R. and Gasnault, O. and Grotzinger, J. P. and Kronyak, R. and Lanza, N. L. and Lasue, J. and Deit, L. Le and Mouélic, S. Le and Maurice, S. and Meslin, P. -Y. and Oehler, D. Z. and Payré, V. and Rapin, W. and Schröder, S. and Stack, K. and Sumner, D.},
abstractNote = {The Curiosity rover's campaign at Pahrump Hills provides the first analyses of lower Mount Sharp strata. We report ChemCam elemental composition of a diverse assemblage of post-depositional features embedded in, or cross-cutting, the host rock. ChemCam results demonstrate their compositional diversity, especially compared to the surrounding host rock: (i) Dendritic aggregates and relief enhanced features, characterized by a magnesium enhancement and sulfur detection, and interpreted as Mg-sulfates; (ii) A localized observation that displays iron enrichment associated with sulfur, interpreted as Fe-sulfate; (iii) Dark raised ridges with varying Mg- and Ca-enriched compositions compared to host rock; (iv) Several dark-toned veins with calcium enhancement associated with fluorine detection, interpreted as fluorite veins. (v) Light-toned veins with enhanced calcium associated with sulfur detection, and interpreted as Ca-sulfates. The diversity of the Pahrump Hills diagenetic assemblage suggests a complex post-depositional history for fine-grained sediments for which the origin has been interpreted as fluvial and lacustrine. Assessment of the spatial and relative temporal distribution of these features shows that the Mg-sulfate features are predominant in the lower part of the section, suggesting local modification of the sediments by early diagenetic fluids. Conversely, light-toned Ca-sulfate veins occur in the whole section and cross-cut all other features. A relatively late stage shift in geochemical conditions could explain this observation. The Pahrump Hills diagenetic features have no equivalent compared to targets analyzed in other locations at Gale crater. Only the light-toned Ca-sulfate veins are present elsewhere, along Curiosity's path, suggesting they formed through a common late-stage process that occurred at over a broad area.},
doi = {10.1016/j.icarus.2016.08.026},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1412864},
journal = {Icarus},
issn = {0019-1035},
number = C,
volume = 281,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 2017},
month = {Fri Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 2017}
}
Web of Science
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