Surface Chemistry and Mineralogy

Banin, A.; Clark, B. C.; Waenke, H.

doi:10.2307/j.ctt207g59v.22

Cited by 97 publications

(95 citation statements)

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“…poorly crystalline ferric oxides of uncertain identity and state of hydration . Clay and carbonate minerals have not, however, been firmly identified (Banin et al, 1992). Thus, there are significant differences between the weathering products associated with the soil and those of the SNCs.…”

Section: Relationship Of Snc Secondary Assemblages To Current Martianmentioning

confidence: 97%

Alteration Assemblages in Martian Meteorites: Implications for Near-Surface Processes

Bridges

Catling

Saxton

et al. 2001

Space Sciences Series of ISSI

128

201

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Abstract. The SNC (Shergotty-Nakhla-Chassigny) meteorites have recorded interactions between martian crustal fluids and the parent igneous rocks. The resultant secondary minerals -which comprise up to ~ 1 vol.% of the meteorites -provide information about the timing and nature of hydrous activity and atmospheric processes on Mars. We suggest that the most plausible models for secondary mineral formation involve the evaporation of low temperature o C) brines. This is consistent with the simple mineralogy of these assemblages -Fe-Mg-Ca carbonates, anhydrite, gypsum, halite, clays -and the chemical fractionation of Ca-to Mg-rich carbonate in ALH84001 'rosettes'. Longer-lived, and higher temperature, hydrothermal systems would have caused more silicate alteration than is seen and probably more complex mineral assemblages. Experimental and phase equilibria data on carbonate compositions similar to those present in the SNCs imply low temperatures of formation with cooling taking place over a short period of time (e.g. days). The ALH84001 carbonate also probably shows the effects of partial vapourisation and dehydration related to an impact event postdating the initial precipitation. This shock event may have led to the formation of sulphide and some magnetite in the Fe-rich outer parts of the rosettes.Radiometric dating (K-Ar, Rb-Sr) of the secondary mineral assemblages in one of the nakhlites (Lafayette) suggests that they formed between 0 and 670 Ma, and certainly long after the crystallisation of the host igneous rocks. Crystallisation of ALH84001 carbonate took place 0.5 Ga after the parent rock. These age ranges and the other research on these assemblages suggest that environmental conditions conducive to near-surface liquid water have been present on Mars periodically over the last ~1 Ga. This fluid activity cannot have been continuous over geological time because in that case much more silicate alteration would have taken place in the meteorite parent rocks and the soluble salts would probably not have been preserved.The secondary minerals could have been precipitated from brines with seawater-like composition, high bicarbonate contents and a weakly acidic nature. The co-existence of siderite (Fe-carbonate) and clays in the nakhlites suggests that the pCO 2 level in equilibrium with the parent brine may have been 50 mbar or more. The brines could have originated as flood waters which percolated through the top few hundred metres of the crust, releasing cations from the surrounding parent rocks. There is no spectroscopic or photographic evidence for extensive evaporite deposits on the current martian surface but some salt precipitation through solute concentration must have occurred as floodwaters associated with many of the martian channels ponded in low-lying areas. The high sulphur and chlorine concentrations of the martian soil have most likely resulted from aeolian redistribution of such aqueously-deposited salts and from reaction of the martian surface with volcanic acid volatiles. However, the SNC salt a...

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Section: Relationship Of Snc Secondary Assemblages To Current Martianmentioning

confidence: 97%

Alteration Assemblages in Martian Meteorites: Implications for Near-Surface Processes

Bridges

Catling

Saxton

et al. 2001

Space Sciences Series of ISSI

128

201

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Chemical evidence for the presence of hydrous alteration products of basaltic rocks in the martian regolith includes Viking and Pathfinder analyses, which are consistent with as much as 1 wt% water (Banin, Clark, and Wänke 1992;Foley, Economou, and Clayton 2001). Baird et al (1976Baird et al ( , 1977, Toulmin et al (1977), and Gooding (1992) found that the composition of the Viking soils could be matched with multicomponent models including hydrous alteration phases, such as smectites.…”

Section: Implications For Marsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrothermal alteration at the Lonar Lake impact structure, India: Implications for impact cratering on Mars

Hagerty

Newsom

2003

Meteorit & Planetary Scien

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Abstract-The 50,000 year old, 1.8 km diameter Lonar crater is one of only two known terrestrial craters to be emplaced in basaltic target rock (the 65 million year old Deccan Traps). The composition of the Lonar basalts is similar to martian basaltic meteorites, which establishes Lonar as an excellent analogue for similarly sized craters on the surface of Mars. Samples from cores drilled into the Lonar crater floor show that there are basaltic impact breccias that have been altered by post-impact hydrothermal processes to produce an assemblage of secondary alteration minerals. Microprobe data and X-ray diffraction analyses show that the alteration mineral assemblage consists primarily of saponite, with minor celadonite, and carbonate. Thermodynamic modeling and terrestrial volcanic analogues were used to demonstrate that these clay minerals formed at temperatures between 130°C and 200°C. By comparing the Lonar alteration assemblage with alteration at other terrestrial craters, we conclude that the Lonar crater represents a lower size limit for impact-induced hydrothermal activity. Based on these results, we suggest that similarly sized craters on Mars have the potential to form hydrothermal systems, as long as liquid water was present on or near the martian surface. Furthermore, the Fe-rich alteration minerals produced by post-impact hydrothermal processes could contribute to the minor iron enrichment associated with the formation of the martian soil.

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“…Observations by previous Mars missions (Banin et al 1992) show that the surface has a widely developed salt-rich crust, dominated by sulphates (Cooper & Mustard 2002), which have been identified by both Mars Exploration Rovers (MER), Spirit and Opportunity (Gellert et al 2004;Squyres et al 2004). Spirit encountered ferric sulfate-rich crusts in Gusev crater, which are likely to be associated with the hydrothermal activity (Arvidson et al 2010) and are evidently accessible by a rover.…”

Section: Crusts On Marsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface mineral crusts: a potential strategy for sampling for evidence of life on Mars

Brolly

Parnell

Bowden

2018

International Journal of Astrobiology

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Surface mineral crusts on Earth are highly diverse and usually, contain microbial life. Crusts constitute an attractive target to search for life: they require water for their formation, they efficiently entrap organic matter and are relatively easy to sample and process. They hold a record of life in the form of microbial remains, biomolecules and carbon isotope composition. A miniaturized Raman spectrometer is included in the ExoMars 2020 payload as it is sensitive to a range of photosynthetic pigments. Samples from the Haughton Impact Structure, Canadian High Arctic and others, shows the preservation of pigments in a range of crust types, especially supra-permafrost carbonate crusts and cryptogamic crusts. The Raman spectral signatures of these crusts are shown along with biomarker analysis to showcase these techniques prior to the ExoMars 2020 mission. Carotenoids and other photoprotective microbial pigments are identified in the Haughton surface crusts using Raman spectroscopy. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses show a distribution of fatty acids which are most likely from a cyanobacterial source. The successful demonstration of these analyses in the Haughton Impact structure shows the biosignature of surface mineral crusts can be easily extracted and provides an excellent target for sampling evidence of life on Mars.

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Surface Chemistry and Mineralogy

Cited by 97 publications

References 0 publications

Alteration Assemblages in Martian Meteorites: Implications for Near-Surface Processes

Alteration Assemblages in Martian Meteorites: Implications for Near-Surface Processes

Hydrothermal alteration at the Lonar Lake impact structure, India: Implications for impact cratering on Mars

Surface mineral crusts: a potential strategy for sampling for evidence of life on Mars

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