Amagmatic hydrothermal systems on Mars from radiogenic heat

Long-lived hydrothermal systems are prime targets for astrobiological exploration on Mars. Unlike magmatic or impact settings, radiogenic hydrothermal systems can survive for >100 million years because of the Ga half-lives of key radioactive elements (e.g., U, Th, and K), but remain unknown on Mars. Here, we use geochemistry, gravity, topography data, and numerical models to find potential radiogenic hydrothermal systems on Mars. We show that the Eridania region, which once contained a vast inland sea, possibly exceeding the combined volume of all other Martian surface water, could have readily hosted a radiogenic hydrothermal system. Thus, radiogenic hydrothermalism in Eridania could have sustained clement conditions for life far longer than most other habitable sites on Mars. Water radiolysis by radiogenic heat could have produced H2, a key electron donor for microbial life. Furthermore, hydrothermal circulation may help explain the region's high crustal magnetic field and gravity anomaly.

Methane Seepage on Mars: Where to Look and Why

Methane on Mars is a topic of special interest because of its potential association with microbial life. The variable detections of methane by the Curiosity rover, orbiters, and terrestrial telescopes, coupled with methane's short lifetime in the martian atmosphere, may imply an active gas source in the planet's subsurface, with migration and surface emission processes similar to those known on Earth as "gas seepage." Here, we review the variety of subsurface processes that could result in methane seepage on Mars. Such methane could originate from abiotic chemical reactions, thermogenic alteration of abiotic or biotic organic matter, and ancient or extant microbial metabolism. These processes can occur over a wide range of temperatures, in both sedimentary and igneous rocks, and together they enhance the possibility that significant amounts of methane could have formed on early Mars. Methane seepage to the surface would occur preferentially along faults and fractures, through focused macro-seeps and/or diffuse microseepage exhalations. Our work highlights the types of features on Mars that could be associated with methane release, including mud-volcano-like mounds in Acidalia or Utopia; proposed ancient springs in Gusev Crater, Arabia Terra, and Valles Marineris; and rims of large impact craters. These could have been locations of past macro-seeps and may still emit methane today. Microseepage could occur through faults along the dichotomy or fractures such as those at Nili Fossae, Cerberus Fossae, the Argyre impact, and those produced in serpentinized rocks. Martian microseepage would be extremely difficult to detect remotely yet could constitute a significant gas source. We emphasize that the most definitive detection of methane seepage from different release candidates would be best provided by measurements performed in the ground or at the ground-atmosphere interface by landers or rovers and that the technology for such detection is currently available. Key Words: Mars-Methane-Seepage-Clathrate-Fischer-Tropsch-Serpentinization. Astrobiology 17, 1233-1264.

The complex relationship between olivine abundance and thermal inertia on Mars

We examine four olivine-bearing regions at a variety of spatial scales with thermal infrared, visible to near-infrared, and visible imagery data to investigate the hypothesis that the relationship between olivine abundance and thermal inertia (i.e., effective particle size) can be used to infer the occurrence of olivine chemical alteration during sediment production on Mars. As in previous work, Nili Fossae and Isidis Planitia show a positive correlation between thermal inertia and olivine abundance in Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) and Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) data, which could be interpreted as indicating olivine chemical weathering. However, geomorphological analysis reveals that relatively olivine-poor sediments are not derived from adjacent olivine-rich materials, and therefore, chemical weathering cannot be inferred based on the olivine-thermal inertia relationship alone. We identify two areas (Terra Cimmeria and Argyre Planitia) with significant olivine abundance and thermal inertias consistent with sand, but no adjacent rocky (parent) units having even greater olivine abundances. More broadly, global analysis with TES reveals that the most typical olivine abundance on Mars is ~5-7% and that olivine-bearing (5-25%) materials have a wide range of thermal inertias, commonly 25-600 J m^-2 K^-1 s^-1/2. TES also indicates that the majority of olivine-rich (>25%) materials have apparent thermal inertias less than 400 J m^-2 K^-1 s^-1/2. In summary, we find that the relationship between thermal inertia and olivine abundance alone cannot be used in infer olivine weathering in the examined areas, that olivine-bearing materials have a large range of thermal intertias, and therefore that a complex relationship between olivine abundance and thermal inertia exists on Mars.