The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover landing site is located within Jezero crater, a ∼ 50 km diameter impact crater interpreted to be a Noachian-aged lake basin inside the western edge of the Isidis impact structure. Jezero hosts remnants of a fluvial delta, inlet and outlet valleys, and infill deposits containing diverse carbonate, mafic, and hydrated minerals. Prior to the launch of the Mars 2020 mission, members of the Science Team collaborated to produce a photogeologic map of the Perseverance landing site in Jezero crater. Mapping was performed at a 1:5000 digital map scale using a 25 cm/pixel High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) orthoimage mosaic base map and a 1 m/pixel HiRISE stereo digital terrain model. Mapped bedrock and surficial units were distinguished by differences in relative brightness, tone, topography, surface texture, and apparent roughness. Mapped bedrock units are generally consistent with those identified in previously published mapping efforts, but this study's map includes the distribution of surficial deposits and sub-units of the Jezero delta at a higher level of detail than previous studies. This study considers four possible unit correlations to explain the relative age relationships of major units within the map area. Unit correlations include previously published interpretations as well as those that consider more complex interfingering relationships and alternative relative age relationships. The photogeologic map presented here is the foundation for scientific hypothesis development and strategic planning for Perseverance's exploration of Jezero crater.
We investigate the cooling histories of peridotites and gabbros from localities that expose oceanic lithosphere formed beneath two fast seafloor spreading centers: Hess Deep as recovered from IODP Expedition 345 and ODP Leg 147, and the Oman Ophiolite as sampled by the Oman Drilling Project, ICDP Expedition 5057 (OmanDP). At these locations, relict crust‐mantle transition zones are directly sampled, enabling characterization of the thermal history of the crust‐mantle transition, and by inference, the depth extent of hydrothermal circulation beneath spreading centers. We measured major and trace element abundances in crustal gabbros and mantle peridotites from Hess Deep and OmanDP, and applied major and trace element‐based thermometers. Geospeedometric interpretation of the temperatures suggests similar cooling histories at both locations; cooling rates ranged from 0.02 to 2.6 °C/y from peak temperatures up to 1,350°C. The rates are consistent on either side of the paleo‐Moho (i.e., in the crust and mantle). Models for conductive cooling of the lower oceanic crust predict rates more than two orders of magnitude slower at the crust‐mantle transition zone, while thermal models that invoke deep and efficient hydrothermal circulation throughout the entire crustal section predict rates consistent with our observations. We infer that hydrothermal cooling extended to or near the petrologic Moho beneath the East Pacific Rise and the OmanDP paleo‐spreading center, consistent with the Sheeted Sills model for crustal accretion. Comparison with previously published rates recalculated using the methods we employed suggests the oceanic lower crust is cooled hydrothermally in some places and by conduction at others.
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