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Stack KM, Dietrich WE, Lamb MP, Sullivan RJ, Christian JR, Newman CE, O’Connell‐Cooper CD, Sneed JW, Day M, Baker M, Arvidson RE, Fedo CM, Khan S, Williams RME, Bennett KA, Bryk AB, Cofield S, Edgar LA, Fox VK, Fraeman AA, House CH, Rubin DM, Sun VZ, Van Beek JK. Orbital and In-Situ Investigation of Periodic Bedrock Ridges in Glen Torridon, Gale Crater, Mars. J Geophys Res Planets 2022; 127:e2021JE007096. [PMID: 35865672 PMCID: PMC9286800 DOI: 10.1029/2021je007096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2021] [Revised: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 05/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Gale crater, the field site for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover, contains a diverse and extensive record of aeolian deposition and erosion. This study focuses on a series of regularly spaced, curvilinear, and sometimes branching bedrock ridges that occur within the Glen Torridon region on the lower northwest flank of Aeolis Mons, the central mound within Gale crater. During Curiosity's exploration of Glen Torridon between sols ∼2300-3080, the rover drove through this field of ridges, providing the opportunity for in situ observation of these features. This study uses orbiter and rover data to characterize ridge morphology, spatial distribution, compositional and material properties, and association with other aeolian features in the area. Based on these observations, we find that the Glen Torridon ridges are consistent with an origin as wind-eroded bedrock ridges, carved during the exhumation of Mount Sharp. Erosional features like the Glen Torridon ridges observed elsewhere on Mars, termed periodic bedrock ridges (PBRs), have been interpreted to form transverse to the dominant wind direction. The size and morphology of the Glen Torridon PBRs are consistent with transverse formative winds, but the orientation of nearby aeolian bedforms and bedrock erosional features raise the possibility of PBR formation by a net northeasterly wind regime. Although several formation models for the Glen Torridon PBRs are still under consideration, and questions persist about the nature of PBR-forming paleowinds, the presence of PBRs at this site provides important constraints on the depositional and erosional history of Gale crater.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn M. Stack
- Jet Propulsion LaboratoryCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCAUSA
| | - William E. Dietrich
- Department of Earth and Planetary ScienceUniversity of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyCAUSA
| | - Michael P. Lamb
- Division of Geological and Planetary SciencesCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCAUSA
| | - Robert J. Sullivan
- Cornell Center for Astrophysics & Planetary ScienceCornell UniversityIthacaNYUSA
| | - John R. Christian
- Department of Earth and Planetary SciencesWashington University in St. LouisSt. LouisMOUSA
| | | | | | - Jonathan W. Sneed
- Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space SciencesUniversity of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesCAUSA
| | - Mackenzie Day
- Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space SciencesUniversity of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesCAUSA
| | - Mariah Baker
- Center for Earth & Planetary StudiesNational Air & Space MuseumSmithsonian InstitutionWashingtonDCUSA
| | - Raymond E. Arvidson
- Department of Earth and Planetary SciencesWashington University in St. LouisSt. LouisMOUSA
| | - Christopher M. Fedo
- Department of Earth and Planetary SciencesUniversity of Tennessee, KnoxvilleKnoxvilleTNUSA
| | - Sabrina Khan
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary SciencesMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeMAUSA
| | | | | | - Alexander B. Bryk
- Department of Earth and Planetary ScienceUniversity of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyCAUSA
| | - Shannon Cofield
- U.S. Department of the InteriorBureau of Ocean Energy ManagementWashingtonDCUSA
| | - Lauren A. Edgar
- Astrogeology Science CenterU.S. Geological SurveyFlagstaffAZUSA
| | - Valerie K. Fox
- Earth and Environmental SciencesUniversity of MinnesotaMinneapolisMNUSA
| | - Abigail A. Fraeman
- Jet Propulsion LaboratoryCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCAUSA
| | | | - David M. Rubin
- Earth and Planetary SciencesUniversity of California, Santa CruzSanta CruzCAUSA
| | - Vivian Z. Sun
- Jet Propulsion LaboratoryCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCAUSA
| | - Jason K. Van Beek
- Jet Propulsion LaboratoryCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCAUSA
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2
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Bristow TF, Grotzinger JP, Rampe EB, Cuadros J, Chipera SJ, Downs GW, Fedo CM, Frydenvang J, McAdam AC, Morris RV, Achilles CN, Blake DF, Castle N, Craig P, Des Marais DJ, Downs RT, Hazen RM, Ming DW, Morrison SM, Thorpe MT, Treiman AH, Tu V, Vaniman DT, Yen AS, Gellert R, Mahaffy PR, Wiens RC, Bryk AB, Bennett KA, Fox VK, Millken RE, Fraeman AA, Vasavada AR. Brine-driven destruction of clay minerals in Gale crater, Mars. Science 2021; 373:198-204. [PMID: 34244410 DOI: 10.1126/science.abg5449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2021] [Accepted: 05/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Mars' sedimentary rock record preserves information on geological (and potential astrobiological) processes that occurred on the planet billions of years ago. The Curiosity rover is exploring the lower reaches of Mount Sharp, in Gale crater on Mars. A traverse from Vera Rubin ridge to Glen Torridon has allowed Curiosity to examine a lateral transect of rock strata laid down in a martian lake ~3.5 billion years ago. We report spatial differences in the mineralogy of time-equivalent sedimentary rocks <400 meters apart. These differences indicate localized infiltration of silica-poor brines, generated during deposition of overlying magnesium sulfate-bearing strata. We propose that destabilization of silicate minerals driven by silica-poor brines (rarely observed on Earth) was widespread on ancient Mars, because sulfate deposits are globally distributed.
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Affiliation(s)
- T F Bristow
- Eobiology Branch, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.
| | - J P Grotzinger
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - E B Rampe
- Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058, USA
| | - J Cuadros
- Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - S J Chipera
- Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
| | - G W Downs
- Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - C M Fedo
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - J Frydenvang
- Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - A C McAdam
- Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
| | - R V Morris
- Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058, USA
| | - C N Achilles
- Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
| | - D F Blake
- Eobiology Branch, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - N Castle
- Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
| | - P Craig
- Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
| | - D J Des Marais
- Eobiology Branch, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - R T Downs
- Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - R M Hazen
- Earth and Planets Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC 20015, USA
| | - D W Ming
- Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058, USA
| | - S M Morrison
- Earth and Planets Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC 20015, USA
| | - M T Thorpe
- Jacobs Technology-Jacobs JETS Contract, Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, at NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058, USA
| | - A H Treiman
- Lunar and Planetary Institute, Universities Space Research Association, Houston, TX 77058, USA
| | - V Tu
- Jacobs Technology-Jacobs JETS Contract, Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, at NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058, USA
| | - D T Vaniman
- Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
| | - A S Yen
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
| | - R Gellert
- Department of Physics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - P R Mahaffy
- Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
| | - R C Wiens
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
| | - A B Bryk
- Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - K A Bennett
- U.S. Geological Survey, Astrogeology Science Center, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA
| | - V K Fox
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - R E Millken
- Department of Earth, Environmental Sciences and Planetary Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - A A Fraeman
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
| | - A R Vasavada
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
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Horgan BHN, Johnson JR, Fraeman AA, Rice MS, Seeger C, Bell JF, Bennett KA, Cloutis EA, Edgar LA, Frydenvang J, Grotzinger JP, L'Haridon J, Jacob SR, Mangold N, Rampe EB, Rivera‐Hernandez F, Sun VZ, Thompson LM, Wellington D. Diagenesis of Vera Rubin Ridge, Gale Crater, Mars, From Mastcam Multispectral Images. J Geophys Res Planets 2020; 125:e2019JE006322. [PMID: 33282614 PMCID: PMC7685111 DOI: 10.1029/2019je006322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2019] [Revised: 09/03/2020] [Accepted: 09/19/2020] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Images from the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission of lacustrine sedimentary rocks of Vera Rubin ridge on "Mt. Sharp" in Gale crater, Mars, have shown stark color variations from red to purple to gray. These color differences crosscut stratigraphy and are likely due to diagenetic alteration of the sediments after deposition. However, the chemistry and timing of these fluid interactions is unclear. Determining how diagenetic processes may have modified chemical and mineralogical signatures of ancient Martian environments is critical for understanding the past habitability of Mars and achieving the goals of the MSL mission. Here we use visible/near-infrared spectra from Mastcam and ChemCam to determine the mineralogical origins of color variations in the ridge. Color variations are consistent with changes in spectral properties related to the crystallinity, grain size, and texture of hematite. Coarse-grained gray hematite spectrally dominates in the gray patches and is present in the purple areas, while nanophase and fine-grained red crystalline hematite are present and spectrally dominate in the red and purple areas. We hypothesize that these differences were caused by grain-size coarsening of hematite by diagenetic fluids, as observed in terrestrial analogs. In this model, early primary reddening by oxidizing fluids near the surface was followed during or after burial by bleaching to form the gray patches, possibly with limited secondary reddening after exhumation. Diagenetic alteration may have diminished the preservation of biosignatures and changed the composition of the sediments, making it more difficult to interpret how conditions evolved in the paleolake over time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Briony H. N. Horgan
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary SciencesPurdue UniversityWest LafayetteINUSA
| | | | - Abigail A. Fraeman
- Jet Propulsion LaboratoryCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCAUSA
| | - Melissa S. Rice
- Geology Department, Physics and Astronomy DepartmentWestern Washington UniversityBellinghamWAUSA
| | - Christina Seeger
- Geology Department, Physics and Astronomy DepartmentWestern Washington UniversityBellinghamWAUSA
- Division of Geological and Planetary SciencesCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCAUSA
| | - James F. Bell
- School of Earth and Space ExplorationArizona State UniversityTempeAZUSA
| | | | | | - Lauren A. Edgar
- U.S. Geological SurveyAstrogeology Science CenterFlagstaffAZ
| | | | - John P. Grotzinger
- Division of Geological and Planetary SciencesCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCAUSA
| | - Jonas L'Haridon
- Laboratoire de Planétologie et GéodynamiqueCNRS, Univ Nantes, Univ AngersNantesFrance
| | - Samantha R. Jacob
- School of Earth and Space ExplorationArizona State UniversityTempeAZUSA
| | - Nicolas Mangold
- Laboratoire de Planétologie et GéodynamiqueCNRS, Univ Nantes, Univ AngersNantesFrance
| | | | | | - Vivian Z. Sun
- Jet Propulsion LaboratoryCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadenaCAUSA
| | - Lucy M. Thompson
- Planetary and Space Science CentreUniversity of New BrunswickFrederictonNew BrunswickCanada
| | - Danika Wellington
- School of Earth and Space ExplorationArizona State UniversityTempeAZUSA
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Li S, Lucey PG, Fraeman AA, Poppe AR, Sun VZ, Hurley DM, Schultz PH. Widespread hematite at high latitudes of the Moon. Sci Adv 2020; 6:6/36/eaba1940. [PMID: 32917587 PMCID: PMC7467685 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aba1940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2019] [Accepted: 07/17/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Hematite (Fe2O3) is a common oxidization product on Earth, Mars, and some asteroids. Although oxidizing processes have been speculated to operate on the lunar surface and form ferric iron-bearing minerals, unambiguous detections of ferric minerals forming under highly reducing conditions on the Moon have remained elusive. Our analyses of the Moon Mineralogy Mapper data show that hematite, a ferric mineral, is present at high latitudes on the Moon, mostly associated with east- and equator-facing sides of topographic highs, and is more prevalent on the nearside than the farside. Oxygen delivered from Earth's upper atmosphere could be the major oxidant that forms lunar hematite. Hematite at craters of different ages may have preserved the oxygen isotopes of Earth's atmosphere in the past billions of years. Future oxygen isotope measurements can test our hypothesis and may help reveal the evolution of Earth's atmosphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuai Li
- Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
| | - Paul G Lucey
- Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| | - Abigail A Fraeman
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
| | - Andrew R Poppe
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Vivian Z Sun
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
| | - Dana M Hurley
- Applied Physics Laboratory Johns Hopkins, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - Peter H Schultz
- Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
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5
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Ehlmann BL, Edgett KS, Sutter B, Achilles CN, Litvak ML, Lapotre MGA, Sullivan R, Fraeman AA, Arvidson RE, Blake DF, Bridges NT, Conrad PG, Cousin A, Downs RT, Gabriel TSJ, Gellert R, Hamilton VE, Hardgrove C, Johnson JR, Kuhn S, Mahaffy PR, Maurice S, McHenry M, Meslin PY, Ming DW, Minitti ME, Morookian JM, Morris RV, O'Connell-Cooper CD, Pinet PC, Rowland SK, Schröder S, Siebach KL, Stein NT, Thompson LM, Vaniman DT, Vasavada AR, Wellington DF, Wiens RC, Yen AS. Chemistry, mineralogy, and grain properties at Namib and High dunes, Bagnold dune field, Gale crater, Mars: A synthesis of Curiosity rover observations. J Geophys Res Planets 2017; 122:2510-2543. [PMID: 29497589 DOI: 10.1002/2016je005225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2017] [Revised: 05/18/2017] [Accepted: 05/19/2017] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover performed coordinated measurements to examine the textures and compositions of aeolian sands in the active Bagnold dune field. The Bagnold sands are rounded to subrounded, very fine to medium sized (~45-500 μm) with ≥6 distinct grain colors. In contrast to sands examined by Curiosity in a dust-covered, inactive bedform called Rocknest and soils at other landing sites, Bagnold sands are darker, less red, better sorted, have fewer silt-sized or smaller grains, and show no evidence for cohesion. Nevertheless, Bagnold mineralogy and Rocknest mineralogy are similar with plagioclase, olivine, and pyroxenes in similar proportions comprising >90% of crystalline phases, along with a substantial amorphous component (35% ± 15%). Yet Bagnold and Rocknest bulk chemistry differ. Bagnold sands are Si enriched relative to other soils at Gale crater, and H2O, S, and Cl are lower relative to all previously measured Martian soils and most Gale crater rocks. Mg, Ni, Fe, and Mn are enriched in the coarse-sieved fraction of Bagnold sands, corroborated by visible/near-infrared spectra that suggest enrichment of olivine. Collectively, patterns in major element chemistry and volatile release data indicate two distinctive volatile reservoirs in Martian soils: (1) amorphous components in the sand-sized fraction (represented by Bagnold) that are Si-enriched, hydroxylated alteration products and/or H2O- or OH-bearing impact or volcanic glasses and (2) amorphous components in the fine fraction (<40 μm; represented by Rocknest and other bright soils) that are Fe, S, and Cl enriched with low Si and adsorbed and structural H2O.
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Arvidson RE, Iagnemma KD, Maimone M, Fraeman AA, Zhou F, Heverly MC, Bellutta P, Rubin D, Stein NT, Grotzinger JP, Vasavada AR. Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover Megaripple Crossings up to Sol 710 in Gale Crater. J FIELD ROBOT 2016. [DOI: 10.1002/rob.21647] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Raymond E. Arvidson
- McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences; Washington University in St. Louis; St. Louis Missouri 63130
| | - Karl D. Iagnemma
- Robotic Mobility Group; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Cambridge Massachusetts 02139
| | - Mark Maimone
- California Institute of Technology/ Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Pasadena California 91011
| | - Abigail A. Fraeman
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences; California Institute of Technology; Pasadena California 91125
| | - Feng Zhou
- McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences; Washington University in St. Louis; St. Louis Missouri 63130
| | - Matthew C. Heverly
- California Institute of Technology/ Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Pasadena California 91011
| | - Paolo Bellutta
- California Institute of Technology/ Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Pasadena California 91011
| | - David Rubin
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences; University of California at Santa Cruz; Santa Cruz California 91125
| | - Nathan T. Stein
- McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences; Washington University in St. Louis; St. Louis Missouri 63130
| | - John P. Grotzinger
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences; California Institute of Technology; Pasadena California 91125
| | - Ashwin R. Vasavada
- California Institute of Technology/ Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Pasadena California 91011
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Greenberger RN, Mustard JF, Ehlmann BL, Blaney DL, Cloutis EA, Wilson JH, Green RO, Fraeman AA. Imaging spectroscopy of geological samples and outcrops: Novel insights from microns to meters. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015. [DOI: 10.1130/gsatg252a.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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